As far as gardening goes, I've never had anything more than what I call a little "kitchen garden"--some herbs and a few veggies and melons, at most. So, I'm still very much a beginner. I haven't even had a garden for the last few years (other than herbs), and I was ready to get back to it, but I also remembered how my gardens usually play out. The season always seems to start out strong and lovely and makes me feel like I really have a green thumb, ha, and then it starts going downhill about mid-summer with the onset of heat, bugs, and disease. So, here it is-- the good, the bad, and the ugly of this year's summer garden! The Good! Late spring and the first half of summer were a ... Read more
Snapshot Saturday: Odds and Ends
Hello there! It's Saturday so I have some snapshots from the week, just odds and ends really. Summer evenings will be coming to an end in a few more weeks but the summer garden already came to an end last Saturday when I pulled up everything except my herb bed and tea bed. It was such a mess! Next week I'll post a summer garden recap. While I worked in the garden, the guys worked on a different project. Earlier in the summer, my son and his friends built a raft to ride down the widest and deepest part of the creek which only worked for about an hour, but they were so excited. The experience inspired the idea to build a small boat which the guys have been working on the last few ... Read more
Little Neighbors are Big Blessings
My sister, Katie, was the baby of the family and she was such a cute little girl! The neighbors thought she was pretty cute too. One day the lady next door called my mom to tell her how much she enjoyed hearing Katie sing "Jesus Loves Me" at the top of her lungs while swinging in our back yard! So sweet. I think about that story now as I have my own little neighbors to enjoy, and they are just so precious. There are a lot of children on our street, and they sing and play and ride their bikes all around the neighborhood. Here a couple of the sweet ways they've blessed us lately. Sunflower Day! Our sunflowers have consistently stayed turned towards our neighbors' yard all summer. My ... Read more
Squash Casserole
There's a saying down here in the South during summertime that goes.... “Better not leave your car unlocked at church on Sundays--not because of crime but because a church member might leave a bag of squash in your front seat!” So funny! But let me just say I've never turned away squash--I love it! When I set out to start a garden this year, I decided to keep it small, and it's been the perfect starter size--just enough for our family to eat. Considering I'm the only one in the family who really likes squash (my husband thinks it's vile), I've been happy to eat it all up myself! My 2 squash plants began yielding in late May and I've been getting 2 or 3 squash a week and that's ... Read more
Snapshot Saturday: Colors of Summer
Happy weekend! In scrolling back through my photos from the week, I was struck by the brightness and color of the season. I'm starting with my favorite little snapshot of the week. During an early morning check of the garden the butterflies were all aflutter, but I managed to catch a quick snapshot of this pretty one with her yellow wings, resting briefly on the dome of a peachy zinnia. I went out one evening to clip some blooms and loved how pretty they were just piled in my basket in every shade of pink. The tomatoes just amaze me with their colors changing through a range of green, yellow, orange, and red. It's just fascinating to observe the progression each day. I ... Read more
Summer Garden
I'm so happy to have a summer garden this year! I haven’t had a true garden (other than some herbs and flowers) for several years because I haven’t been able to get it planted early enough. We live in the Deep South, and it has to be started in very early spring so it will be well established before the heat of summer hits. My husband and son built me some new cedar boxes back in March and filled them with soil, ready for me to plant, grow, and harvest to my heart’s content. I planted everything (some seed, some plants) on April 1st and now I'm enjoying some homegrown veggies and herbs. My husband expanded the gated area on the side of our house to allow for more garden space while ... Read more