green thumbs

as things have progressed with the interior of our house, my goal this year was to make changes on the exterior as well. with sunny days leading the way, i have set out to accomplish some yard work, baby in tow. strapping little c in the moby wrap on my back, i grabbed gloves, shovels, rakes, soil, seeds, plants, and my watering can and got to work.

a few weeks ago i dug flower beds along the entire front of our home. equipped with my spade, i turned over each patch of grass and shook the dirt from the roots before piling the grassy clumps to be transplanted in the backyard. after the beds were turned up and raked out, i planted my various wild flowers, phlox, dianthus, geranium, zinnia, aster, sweet william, marigold, cosmos, and transplanted a section of our peony which has been rooted at the base of our large spruce tree for much longer than i have lived here, for sure.

after the front beds had been completed and successfully growing for a few weeks, i decided i felt confident enough in my green thumb to tackle the backyard. again, strapping my string bean to my back, i dug the large bare patch that never grows grass next to our porch and adorned it with iris and tiger lily and some bluebells from my mother's own gardens. i then dug out the corner by our porch steps, which was full of clay and rock, and lovingly planted a wild rose and a few miscellaneous purple and pink carpet flowers. skirting the edge of the corner bed with small stones i uncovered while digging, i stepped back to admire my work. little c soon grew tired and required a nap, so i put him to bed, snatched up the baby monitor, and headed back outside determined to complete far more.

grabbing up the large pots that have been lying dormant in the garage, and the overlarge bag of potting soil, which required all of my efforts to carry to the back porch, i set to the task of planting a pot with some early girl tomatoes which my mother had an abundance of and passed on to me. never having planted them myself, i took a few tips from her as i put the four tomato plants in the designated pot. covering them with soil and fertilizer, i moved to my next pot. i decided this should be my herb pot as i had a few misfit plants in need of permanent housing. with the large (and rather ragged looking) lemon balm my neighbor sweetly left on my doorstep, some basil i had originally sprouted in a wet paper towel, and some sad little dill which had not fared as well as the basil, along with a mystery herb i suspect to be coriander, i created a clay pot of herbal lovelies and placed in next to our front step in the small white rocking chair that will someday be caleb's to play in. not to stop there, i sowed seeds into my other large pot in which a blend of salad edibles will grow. radish, chive, lettuce, and cucumber will hopefully be peaking out of the soil very soon and growing into tasty treats for our summer salads.

once all were planted, i filled my watering can to the brim and watered all of my fresh plantings well. since my babe was taking an extra long nap, i even made to hose down the driveway of all the debris and fir needles that had never been swept away this spring. with a clean driveway, newly planted flowers and eatables ready for summer weather, i am feeling even more inspired and hope to pick up a few more plants for growing. even better yet are the plans for landscaping our backyard this year. e bought a trimmer and edger to clear cut the weeds and overgrowth that's always been a hassle so that we may take back our yard and sculpt it into something amazing. the potential has always been there, but now we are motivated and able to get to it! i was raised to, and as a result am a firm believer in, appreciate and care for what you have. preservation of beloved things is something i do well (make a note of the 18-year-old four poster bed and dresser set that was a gift for my 8th birthday..) and i so look forward to tending what we have here. it may not be grandiose, but that says nothing for what it is or can be with our TLC.