Small Miracles

Life and loss..Today I awoke after a frightening night. Tornadoes ripped through Alabama and Georgia. We readied ourselves putting things in the basement. A radio, some candles a couple lawn chairs that we could sleep in there. We watched the news and waited. It passed us by.
Others were not so lucky. I watched the people searching for their loved ones. Looking at the ruins of thier homes. I have cried today hard for them and for us as a people. We can not play fast and lose with the earth and not expect the climate to change. The melting of the polar ice caps the changes in the weather are part of our ignoring nature. Like small children destroying and throwing away a toy we play with this earth like it's nothing. Oils spills, Factories pumping out carbons we reap what we sow.
I went out today and looked at my flowers and said a prayer. Please Lord let us learn and change.

Please give to your local red cross and go out and plant some flowers in memory of the storms of 2011.

Happy Easter!

There are times when you feel close to God and the world. More and more I am finding those moments in the garden. I sit down beside the newly opened flowers,vegitables and trees and marvel at it. My garden was the concept of the family that owned the house before we bought it. They built it, loved it, planted the azeala bushes, the hydreangeas and lovely little pink things I've yet to figure out. I feel as if I inherited heaven.
Mind you I didn't like the house at first. It was old fashioned and our realtor was showing us these beautiful new houses with huge kitchens tiny yards. The magic didn't happen until we had heart broken by the house we really wanted and the bank not even looking at our offer. It was around the corner. So we decided to look at this tiny little 1950's house again. This time we walked into the back yard. There was this white swing and these tall bushy hostas a few blooming flowers the bones of a past garden. We sat down in the swing and rocked back and forth as it started to grow dark. I realized I could love this house. It was fall when we moved in. I could not wait for spring to see what was in that tiny garden. Come Christmas we took the artificial tree to Goodwill and bought our first real tree together. Strung lights took pictures from outside and inside. It was like everything was waiting.
In march we were moving the leaves and branches from the corner of the yard and there were iris just poking out of the ground.
In april the bushes started filling in. Like a small sigh when everything started blooming. I realized I was learning a lesson with this house. A jewel doesn't always show it's self immediately. Sometimes it comes to shine from the work you put into it. From the love that once was. Somthings last forever, some things are reborn and some vanish from us leaving only a memeory. Love is the only thing eternal. I never met the people who owned my house. I'm told most of them had passed away,the daughter was living far away. I find things like flower vases in the basement old metal arbor buried in the ground. I can tell you this house was full of love and is full of love now. This gift of love from a God that knew my heart. He put my husband in my path and now this house. There are no accidents...all planned and good or bad with lessons attached. I look around and I know. He's alive!

Plantaurama save the trauma

There is a plant for all seasons and a plant for all spaces. When we first bought our house we were faced with the saddest thing. Two planters on the porch with dead grey dusty rosemary. I plucked out the two and gave them a proper plant funeral, down behind the azelea bushes. Most people don't realize you have to pick your plants for the space. Get alot of hot dry sun don't plant Pansies~they need some shade and moisture. Got a shaded porch plant shade plants but if you forget to water...alot do something that can take it. Plants are like people they have personalities wants and needs. Since we take them out of their natural surroundings it's up to us to supply their needs. Water, sun and soil with the correct balance of furtilizer and ph sounds complicated but it's just a matter of being willing to learn. If your planning on growing anything get your soil tested it's fairly cheap and allows you to amend the soil so you get good results and fewer heartaches. Know that you will have problems. Nature is harsh. A beautiful row of plants that you spent days planting, watering and nurturing can be eatten by a squirrel or bunny in minutes. My family call me squirrel obcessed and spend a lot of time sending me Foamy, the squirrel jokes because I once clocked a squirrel with a potato for eating my iris bulbs. (I hate squirrels they're rats with fluffy tails.) Get a kind trap load it with...iris bulbs or peanut butter and take them far far away...........The further the better.

Big Plants Big Containers

You can grow large plants in containers. Squash, zucchini larger vegitables easy to grow on a deck. Make sure they get plenty of sun at least 8 hrs of sunlight. Plant marigolds with them to cut down on bugs and ickies. I use long handled tweezers to pick off bugs I don't like and I drop them in a jar to be identified. If they are good bugs they go back on the plant, bad ones...dumdedumdum daaa! If you can't handle bugs you can't have a garden! Remember you want to eat this stuff so no toxins! You will get a pest problem but try buying lady bugs or praying mantis, or a insecticidal soap. READ THE LABEL of anything you put on the plants! First you'll need a 5 gallon container one plant per container, gravel and a bag of miracle grow potting soil or potting soil and slow release fertilizer. I like to put Squash on a standing plant stand and let it draps down or you can put it on an arbor. You want to do two plants to let them cross pollinate. add about 1 or 2 inches gravel making sure you don't block the holes in the bottum of the pot. Put in the potting soil leaving about and inch from the top. Plant the flower per instructions on the label. Let them vine down and water once a week twice if the soil feels dry! Use your fingers it's your best gauge. If it feels dry water it if feels too wet cut back on your watering . Soil should feel moist not wet. You can eat the flowers too. Stuff them with some cooked italian turkey sausage lightly saute and serve them over a nice lightly sauced pasta. Not just good but ready for guests!

squish squash