PERSONAL DAY

For health reasons, I ended up with an unexpected day off from work.  I decided that it would be a day where I get my life organized and tie up as many loose ends as possible. So far, I've been writing thank you cards (only a month overdue), I trimmed up the quilt I'm making for Mason, I put away the laundry that had been folded in laundry baskets for three days, and I shredded the stack of papers that had been accumulating on the shredder.  For the rest of the day, I plan to check off as many tasks on my to do list as possible, as well as take some much needed time for myself.
Another quick thing I managed to do today was to go outside and snip some zinnias from my garden for a little added freshness for the house.  I put them in my favorite jar for added happiness.

The zinnias were actually sort of a surprise.  My mom and I had planted them from seeds, but then later my husband, without knowing we had done it, planted some other plants in the same spot.  I really thought the zinnias were goners, but sure enough, after forgetting about them for two months, there is a whole bush of them, pink as can be.

The sign in the background is a little something that I found in Michigan and surprised Byron with for our Fathers Day on the road.  I may have teared up when I gave it to him. Apparently I was a bit emotional.  And he may have teared up when I gave it to him, so apparently he was a bit emotional as well!

GROWING

If you remember back last year, we put in some landscaping in our front yard, and I got started adding some beauty (in plant form).  This year, I am building on that foundation.  My first success this year were my tulips in early spring.  They were really beautiful, blooming in orangey-pink and white.  However...I have no picture to prove it.
Otherwise, we have pretty much filled up the rest of our garden.  I got two lobelia plants at the farmers market.  In reality, they are more of a bright blue color (they were called techno and they really do look a little neon).  Even though they are just annuals, they are probably my favorite flower right now.

My mother has taken a new hobby of buying me plants, and I don't mind!  She bought me two daisy plants and some other purple thing for my first Mothers Day, and then a few others in the days following.  This one below has really pretty gold flowers, but forgive me for not knowing what it is (even though the tag is right there I'm just too lazy to go check). But I still like it!

For perspective, I did manage to take a few wider angle shots.  Here are both the left side and the right side of the garden bed.  People and sprinklers kept me from getting the full picture, but I'm betting you can put two and two together.

And just for good measure, here's a shot of Mommy's little helper.  His most helpful skill is testing out all of the dirt to make sure it is still dirty.  Usually he will find that it is.

Two Out of Three Ain't Bad

What do you call it when you meet two thirds of a goal?  Can you actually cross it off your list?  Maybe I can strike it two thirds of the way through.  But anyway, that's neither here nor there.  Let me just get to the point.
There are some new friends living in my garden.  And, this time, I actually planted them all by myself.  Last night, Byron and I went to Lowe's to pick up some random things, and I convinced him to walk through the plant section.  He was pretty tired, so we didn't do a very thorough search through everything like I was kind of hoping for.  Actually, it wasn't so much a thorough search as a deal on perennials that I was searching for.  In the few minutes I browsed, I didn't find anything that jumped out at me, so we settled for two little annuals.  Byron picked them both out himself, too!
Let me introduce you to our first addition, geranium.  This one is going to bloom pink buds.  If you look at the second photo, you can just see them.

Our second addition is something I had never heard of.  It's called fentas.  It will also bloom pink buds.  I'm excited for this one, because it appears that the buds are going to be pretty dense.  I hope it turns out as pretty as the picture on the tag.

Don't spend too much time looking at these pictures or you will notice the weeds growing in the background.  I'll get to those, I promise.
Technically, I only have two new plants for my garden.  However, living inside my home is this lovely little lady.

I have been instructed to plant this in my garden as well, but I'm just a little hesitant, and here's why.  Our garden is on the West side of our house, and anything I plant there is going to get drenched in the afternoon and evening sun.  The tag on this little guy says that it does best in indirect sunlight.  So although I love it, I don't want it to meet its instant death in our garden.  I think I can plant it in a pot to sit on my front porch, which is covered, and as long as I water it like crazy, it should be fine.  That is my plan, but due to another upcoming porch project, this will have to wait a few more days.
Two new plants in our garden, to do exactly what Byron likes - add color!  The little garden will probably be a work in progress well into next year, but we are learning some things and it is really taking shape.  Before I sign off for the night, I'll share a couple of updated photos of the flowers we planted earlier this year.  A couple of the blooms on the coneflowers (middle picture) have already turned pink.

#26

I'm going to call this one officially done.  Mostly because we hit a couple of snags before the finish (mostly our real jobs requiring OT), but also because I feel if I dragged it out any longer it would get awfully repetitive.  The official goal was "plant flowers in front of the porch", and although there is room for a few more, ladies and gentlemen, we have flowers.

I am so proud of both Byron and myself for our work on this project.  Byron did ALL of the heavy lifting and manual labor.  I am also proud that between the two of us we didn't want to kill each other in the process.  We just both wanted this project to look perfect, and sometimes our way of communicating with each other takes a few unnecessary winds. Usually, and this time is no exception, we end up in a good place.

We also had help from my mom with this project, since my current condition doesn't exactly make bending down one of my strengths.  We got several plants for free from a coworker of hers and she donated some of the extras that she purchased and didn't need, as well as dug the holes, planted them, and helped me to place them.  I am also expecting some flowers from a coworker of mine, so I should only have to buy 3-5 things for myself, maybe even less.  I do have plans to add tulip bulbs in the fall, because what kind of good little Dutch girl would I be if I didn't plant tulips?

Truly, we still just have to glue the top layer of brick down, fill in a few more plants, and learn how to enjoy the view, but since those remaining items don't really change what people see as they walk or drive by, we are done.  Now comes the challenge of developing my green thumb!