What I found in the yard

While out gardening during Memorial Day weekend, I discovered new flowers and even more new flowers. The woman who owned the house before us was a true lover of flowers. I’ve never seen so many different kinds. A different bunch seem to bloom weekly. I don’t even know their names.

Here are some of the flowers I found just weeks ago– along with this bird feeder.

Growing herbs

Last year in the middle of the move, there was no garden. But the year before, we grew our own herbs! We’ll do it again, but I have so many dried herbs I still need to use.

It is just as easy as growing a tomato! YOU CAN DO IT! Even if you live in an apartment. All you need is a sunny window.

Take a look:

Eating bad food in order not to waste

After reading Mrs. Green’s blog about not wasting food and her count down to September 2nd-8th Zero Waste Week, I attempted diligence all summer long.

The last of the summer garden

Oh, fall is upon us, isn’t it? The cool air, children back in school.
And plucking the very last of the goodies from the garden…

Havana Community Garden

While driving to visit daddy last year, I passed a community garden in Havana, Georgia. I had to get out and snoop. By far the cleanest, most successful community garden I’d seen yet, I had to ask, “How and who runs it?”

The things that didn’t decompose…

We started our compost bin from scratch when we arrived here in August—-immediately, the very month we moved in. By month 5, we had rich, black, ready-to-use compost.

Pruning the pear tree

My husband goes by the book. Literally. He has about 10 different gardening books he sifts through before he does anything. My philosophy is, “Well, my mom does this every year and it works for her.” Or my newest version:

Me: “Well, Ed did it and it worked.”
My husband: “Who’s Ed?”
Me: “You know, from The Garden at 8505.”
My husband: “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
Me: “From the blog. You know Ed, the gardener whose wife wrote the post about the no-poo.”
My husband: “No-poo?”
Me: “She wrote a post about using no shampoo. You know, the one who pruned his pear trees with his son. I showed you last week.”
My husband: “Oh yeah. The guy in the hat.”

Reusing items to plant seeds.

Here are a few other ideas for reusing items when starting your plants from seed.

Planting seeds in what?

Frustrated at constantly having to buy peat pots which cause the darn plants to go root bound, I ended up peeling off the entire thing to keep the roots intact. The pots ended up in the compost. What a waste. Now I find out peat isn’t sustainable? Time for a new plan…

The peat pots last gardening season.

How to cover your garden from a freeze. Or how not to.

As the weather warms, I would say this is no longer an issue this year. But then I talked to family last night in Baltimore. It was 60 degrees yesterday and the weather man was calling for snow this weekend. You just never know.

My weapons.