Dirty Finger Nails

Today I had to go to my home to meet the AC repairman and while Becky and I were there we decided to go ahead and get the Azaleas that were on life support into the ground. I felt like they needed to get out of those 1 gallon plastic pots and into some good soil if they were really going to have a good shot at making it. So now, underneath a bedroom window and in a nice part shade area I have 5 white Azaleas situated to grow into a beautiful addition to my front yard. In addition we weeded out some of the flower beds that have been a bit neglected since I moved out. Since I know for sure I am moving back in September I want to make sure my yard and garden stay looking good. In fact, since the renters don't care, Becky and I are going to start going over there periodically to work on the yard and house to try and get it in the direction I want it in before the move back in. I have designed a BEAUTIFUL front yard on paper and am in the process of putting a plan down for the neglected back yard. I am SOOOOO excited to get my house back and have a "never-ending" project!

Myrtillocactus Geometricus Crest

This is one of my FAVORITE new Cacti! It just screams unique and has lots of potential to be a major focal piece in a planter.

Falling in love with Cacti

Recently I have really been becoming a fan of Cacti, all the different shapes, textures, colors....and it doesn't hurt that I love New Mexico and they really take me there. Over the past few weeks we have accumulated a few really neat Cacti and I wanted to share them with you.

My Kalanchoe

My mom gave me this awesome plant last year and I must say that I never paid it much attention or thought much of it. It grew real lanky and never impressed me much. This spring when I transplanted it I grew kinda fond of it and wanted to see it do better, unfortunately it just looked weepy. When Mom came to visit me for the Sand Springs Herbal Fair two weekends ago she took drastic measures with it and almost made me faint...she cut it back to almost nothing! By the time she was done with it all that was left were some cuttings to propagate and a basic stem. Needless to say I feared it would just fizzle out, but Mom did her best to reassure me it would make it healthier and prettier...and she was RIGHT (I know, it pains me to say these words). It already has 4 or 5 spots where new growth is starting to break through the main stem and the cutting are already rooted well enough I can plant them...Can't wait to see how it looks by the time I have to bring it in for old man winter.

My vegetable garden is doing ok, not sure if it is getting too much sun, but all-in-all I am pretty happy with it. My jalapeno pepper plant seems to be a little yellowish green and I do not have any blooms on it as of yet. Also, you will notice my cauliflower and broccoli have been a feast for some grubby, fat insect. Since then I have sprayed it down with some Organic garden spray that is okay for pets, hopefully they will make a full recovery. My green beans are taking off like Jack's magic beans, I had no idea they would grow so fast But again, I am worried the color isn't as "green" as they should be.

EAT YOUR VEG!

I thought this was too cute to pass up since my next post is about my vegetable garden!

Does Anybody Know the Genus/Species Names?

I got two Hostas last Friday from a lady's yard but don't know the specific species of these two, does anybody have any ideas? I was afraid they wouldn't make the transplant at first, but they have perked up nicely and looks like they will do well :)

Azaleas On Life Support

INTENSIVE CARE!

Last week at Home Depot they had Azaleas on sale for $1.97 a gallon bush so I went to see if they had any white ones left (I have decided to do a solid white wall of Azaleas on one foundation wall at my house). The selection they had left were so sun scorched and bone dry it looked as if the might cease to be at any moment. I asked the cashier if she would give me a discount and I got them for $1.00 a piece, I was soooo excited! I have been babying them all week; taking off dead and burnt leaves, giving them extra water, making sure they are shaded, and I am hoping to get them planted at my house this coming up weekend!

SEEDS, SEEDS, and more SEEDS!

I am officially running out of room to plant seeds! I started gardening again this year after pretty much taking last year off due to all the going, going, going of a newly single woman. This year however, the garden bug hit me twice as hard (I guess to make up for a year off) and now I find myself eating, sleeping, and living gardening. It started when I decided I wanted to plant a few veggies, nothing major. I went to a nursery and Becky built me a bed to plant the broccoli, cauliflower, onions, asparagus, and garlic I bought. The next wave of gardening hit me when I finally piked up my plants that had been staying at my friend's house in her greenroom for the winter. Once I had the garden planted and my plants back it was like I couldn't stop. I replanted my plants, decorated pots, and was constantly rearranging everything. Next I bought a little seed starting kit and planted some green beans and cilantro...NEITHER came up! I was really disappointed and thought that maybe I wouldn't be any good growing from seed when i remembered I had packets of seeds from my trips to Mount Vernon and Monticello last summer. I decided to give it a go and started the seed kit all over again. I planted heirloom cantaloupe, pumpkins (some from Monticello and some from a pumpkin I had 2 years ago), lemon balm, sweet basil, and blackberry lily (flower). Surprisingly lots of stuff started to sprout!! I was SOOOOOOO excited I could hardly contain myself...here I was starting a plant from the tiniest piece of earth, what a miracle!! Since then my mom has come up and brought me seeds from her garden to get started and helped me with my potted plants. We went to the Sand Springs Herbal Fair where I fell in love with succulents and started a new love affair with cacti! All-in-all, I am officially obsessed!! This blog will be my personal record/diary of my garden and my life gardening. I plan to upload photos and video of my trials, errors (hopefully few), and triumphs in the dirt. Tomorrow I many pictures to post that will hopefully be the begining of a green life in more ways than I can imagine!