El Preso

It's the most wonderful time of the year....

Time for me to start playing in the dirt. I love gardening and growing things. Last night I stopped by a local garden center and started drooling over plants. 

This year, I've got a plan of attack. This weekend, instead of a bouquet of flowers for Mother's Day, I want flowers to plant. I love doing pots on my deck and front porch.

 I'm planning on doing a salsa garden in a container. I'm going to plant peppers (the hotter the better! I like it spicy)

 A little cilantro...

And of course, tomatoes.

I love being able to gout to my deck and harvest for salsa whenever. Anything that makes tacos even better makes me happy. 

I Wish

My yard tends to get infested with dandelions each year. 

The rational adult in me groans and moans over them, knowing once they go to seed they will just spread all over the place. The little girl in me remembers making a wish and blowing on them, scattering them around. I really need to get in touch with that little girl sometimes.

I went and plucked a dozen or so dandelions and put them in a jar. Its in my sacred space to remind myself (and the little man) that we all need some magic in our lives, and its ok to make a wish.

Empty Garden

I love gardening. It's been a passion since I was a little girl.

 I love seed catalogues. I love looking at gardening websites. Starting in mid-February, when its dreary, gray and cold on the northern plains, my thoughts turn to spring and my garden.

I grow both flowers and food. For food, I grow tomatoes and make heaps of homemade sauce. 

I have a salsa garden too, which is better than anything you can buy. (Homemade salsa rocks.) 

I've even grown cantaloupe, but my  attempt at watermelon was an epic fail. 

There's a bit of a spiritual element gardening. Time, after all, began in a garden.

For me, it's a sort of stress relief. There's something therapeutic about playing in the dirt. Whether its getting back to nature or the very act of creating something out of nothing. 

I also love being surrounded by beauty. I think greeting guests with flowers at the front door is a lovely way to welcome them. 

This summer I have an empty garden. My church plot, which was to be for my vegetables, lays fallow. I do have a bit of sadness. It's what could have been, versus my reality. Some days, reality quite frankly stinks. This hasn't exactly been the summer I planned. 

My intention was bucket lists and family fun and more. Instead its been hospitals, 

doctors and nursing homes. 

While I still have the same 24 hours in the day, I haven't had the energy or motivation to garden. 

It's far too late to plant. This summer is a loss on the dirt front.

Nothing But Flowers

One of my fondest childhood memories was working in the garden with my aunt. I loved playing in the dirt back then, and I still do as I head into middle age.

One of the first signs of spring for me is planting my annuals. I usually do a few pots of annuals. At least two wind up on my front stoop and are my geranium/dracaena/ivy mix. I’ve been making these pots for years, and for me, it’s a sure sign of spring into summer gardening.

First, you start with a pot.

I add some stones in the bottom for drainage.

Then you add dirt.

In order to build the proper pyramid shape, I start in the front and work my way backwards.

I plant the ivy. I prefer English ivy, but variegated ivy adds some different coloring and depth to your design. Make sure that you add enough to cover the front of your pot.

Next, add the geraniums.

Finally, add the dracaena spikes.

Voila! A beautiful pot of annuals!

Intervention

I am getting ready to plant my perennial/annual garden. I have a space of about 30 feet long, and about 3 feet wide. Right now, there are a few perennials in there that are doing marvelously. The rest, not so much.

lavender growing in my garden

daisies in my garden

So, its time for an intervention.

I had to think what my garden goals are:

• Cutting
•  
• Color
•  
• Indulging my passion for playing in the dirt