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Garden Planning – It Might Be A Gardening First For Me!

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I love to garden.  
Every year, right about this time, I start to go crazy.  I’m dying for the rain to stop, the ground to thaw, and the huge mud puddles to evaporate away.  I’m ready for the days to warm up a bit, the sun to come out, and I’m excited to get my hands dirty again.

 
I’m also really excited to not have to mop floor several times a day.  Thank you, very much Mr. Laboradoodle. (Rain + Dirt + Big Fluffy Dog = Mopping)

I’m always looking at garden plans, but I’m never much of a planner myself, when it comes to gardening.  That always surprises me about myself because I tend to be a planner, except when it comes to the garden.

When it comes to my garden, I plant whatever catches my eye at the garden center or replant whatever needs to be divided.
 This year, I think things will be different.
 I’ve been ordering seed catalogs and free planning guides online.  Over the past few weeks they’ve been arriving in my mailbox.  I do have to deal with taking myself off of their mailing lists after the catalogs arrive, but the small hassle is worth the large amount of inspiration.

This year, I know for sure what I want to plant.

I know the month I need to plant the seeds in.
I have a plan where I’d like to move any plants that need to be divided.

I even have a plan for those special little plants that don’t like our damp Springs and Early Summers.
 
I can’t wait to get started planting!

For now, I’ll have to settle for planning and dreaming.
 
But, it will be time for potatoes and peas before we know it, Friends.
Happy garden planning!

Starting to Garden

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The sun came out for 2 days. Then the rain came back. My kids and I jumped at the chance to start a little gardening. This box was once home to my strawberry plants. They never produced too many berries because I wasn’t sunny enough. I was reading in Country Gardens magazine that lettuce is good to grow in areas like these. We dug up the berries and replanted them in another part of the yard. This became our lettuce box. We also planted peas at the back, just for fun. The potatoes are planted. The lettuce starts are in. Now all we need is a little warm weather and we can plant the rest of the garden. The snow level is supposed to be down to 500 feet tonight, so we’ll just have to wait to plant the garden.

Happy gardening!

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A Really Poopy Weekend

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Yep, it was a poopy weekend at our house. The rain finally took a break, so I headed down to Lowe’s to get my chicken poop.


I’m not sure why, but chicken manure was $3.20 per bag and cow manure was only $1.20 per bag. Chicken manure is usually my first choice, but this year I went with cow manure in the interest of saving money.  My mom’s garden usually grows twice the size of my garden.  I’m hoping that 12 bags of cow poop give my garden the nutrients it needs to grow as well as my mom’s garden.

The veggie garden is ready to go. I’ll plant peas and potatoes next weekend.  We’ll plant the rest of garden in May.


Happy gardening!
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Home and Family Friday and Dreaming of Spring

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It’s just about all I can think about right now. I cannot wait for Spring to arrive. I’m ready to dig in the dirt, plant my garden, and hang my window boxes. I’m dying to sit on the deck and bask in the warm-ish sunshine. (We live in the Pacific Northwest. It doesn’t get too warm here.)

Onto Home and Family Friday! I can’t wait to see what you’ve got for us this week! I’d love it if you’d grab my button and become a follower!

Happy Friday!

Growing Paperwhites and Home and Family Friday

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It’s time to plant Paperwhites!

I stopped by my local garden shop last week to pick up my Paperwhite bulbs. Once upon a time, when Costco carried Paperwhites, I would give one to each of my students to observe in the classroom. We loved watching the roots start sprouting. Then the green would shoot up out of the bulb, grow buds, and eventually flowers. It’s magical for a five year old to see how an ugly brown bulb can bring such beauty. Well, Costco doesn’t carry Paperwhites anymore. Sadly, I can’t afford the price of Paperwhites for all of my students. $25 at the garden center is a lot harder to swallow that $9.99 at Costco. I do love to grow them with my own kids, though.

If you’ve never grown Paperwhites before, it’s time to start! They are really easy.

 

Choose a container. Any bowl or dish will do. I used my basil chalkboard bowl that I made last summer.

 

Fill it with rocks.

 

 

Add a little water and a few bulbs.

 

 

 

Before you know it, you’ll have beautiful flowers. Happy planting!

Check out these parties I like to link up to.

Now we’re on to Home and Family Friday. It’s been a busy week, so if you don’t have something new, how about linking up a favorite old post?

Thankful for Being Snowed In

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It all started on Monday. The snow started falling on our drive to school and it didn’t stop all day. Then the cold temps hit. An inch of snow is all it takes to bring the city to a standstill, when you live in the Seattle area.

Cooper enjoyed his first time playing in the snow. He likes to eat the snow and then he gets snow all over his beard.

 

We needed some craft projects so we wouldn’t go crazy. My youngest tried making a few toilet paper rolls into Pilgrims. I think she did a pretty good job! I tried suggesting more hair for the Pilgrims, but no luck for them.

 

Since we couldn’t go anywhere (except the sledding hill) we decided to do a few projects around the house.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I’m thankful for my unexpected gift of a stay home with my kids. (Yes, we cancel school for an inch of snow.) I loved spending the day with my family!

Happy Thanksgiving!

Home and Family Friday and a New Planter

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Oh, how I love basil! I love the smell of it. I love to cook with it. I love the combination of basil and tomatoes. This herb just screams Summer to me! Around here, we can’t plant basil until mid to late June. It’s just too wet and it just rots if you plant it any sooner. I’ve never tried growing basil inside, but I thought I’d give it a try.

I have had this old pot sitting in my garage for a few years now. Sometimes we use it to grow paperwhites in the winter, but most of the time it sits empty. I love the color, but it’s just not MY color. I don’t have any greens in the house. Time for a little makeover.

I painted it up with chalkboard paint.

Then I planted and labeled it. My 9 year old said, “Mom, why are you writing Basil on the pot, when we can clearly see that it is basil.” He just doesn’t understand how chalkboard paint has changed the lives of so many in the blogging world.

It looks perfect in my kitchen and I get to smell it when we’re having dinner. What have you been working on this week? Link up! Let’s see those projects!!!

Here are a few parties I like to participate in.