green makes me happy

visiting our local true value garden center was on the list

today but not for plants. it was on there to get some

stain for a project i started the other cold rainy day.

i rarely go to the hardware store that i don't at least stroll thru

the plants...if the weather is nice enough.

what a difference a week makes...last week nothing much

was there but today a different story.

some of my containers definitely needed sprucing up so i

bought mostly green fillers(F), spillers(S), and a few thrillers(T).

my list of goodies.

for the victory garden:

anethum graveolens ~ herb dill

flat italian parsely ~ papa joe's

african daisy astra ~ violet

african daisy astra ~ white improved

for my backyard patio containers:

dracaena indivsa ~ spike T

lysimachia 'midnight sun' ~ creeping jenny S

ipomoea batatias 'little blackie' ~ sweet potato vine S

asparagus setaceus ~ plumosa fern F

vinca major maculata ~ vinca vine S

citronella ~ scented geranium T

for a walkway leading to side of yard and our hot tub:

lautentia fluciatilus ~ a lovely little trailing ground cover

for an antique urn in the front yard :

festuea glauca 'elijah blue' ~ blue fescue

got them all planted this afternoon with the sun shining for a bit.

happy springtime.

thank you mr. postman

today i received more good mail than bad.
doesn't everybody want one of those kind of days.
i love to get wonderful stuff in the mail.

i had won a giveaway from "in the garden".
thank you skeeter for such a very thought filled and
from the heart gift to this gardener.


there are three packets of seeds, morning glories,
violas, and sweet pea. also included is this wonderful plaque
depicting a vintage seed packet. i think this will go in my potting shed.
i am still thinking about where is the best place to put it.

i love it!

then at my standing lunch date with rachel, she had received this
in the mail from esty. esty is an online shop for all kinds of artistic handmade goodness.
it is a little bag for items for your lunch or i put my
sunglasses in it. it is adorable rachel thank you so much.



today i got my seeds for the herb and veggie garden. i ordered them from
south carolina foundation seed association affiliated clemson state university.


how exciting!
i love the simplicity of the packaging. i can't wait to open each one
and plant them in the ground. it feels very ambitious to have so
many seeds in my possession. i will need lots of energy and time.





also today i got some books i had ordered online.
both were recommended by sherry @ q-corner.blogspot.com/
i haven't even cracked them opened yet but i can't wait to read them.
but i plan on drinking something hot and peeking into them tonight.
i bought an extra copy to share with my daughter rachel.
"a guide to green housekeeping" shows ways of doing natural cleaning
and using what you have on hand. "roses love garlic" is
another companion planting book that i wanted to read.


by the way, rachel my daughter is thinking of starting
her own blog. i highly recommend it maybe you bloggers
could give her some encouragement.

happy rainy spring day!

pathways to a potager

we all know there are many paths to choose in life...
welcome to the pathway to a potager...meem's potager.

this is meems second spring/summer veggie garden.
although she planted some flowers last year,
'09 is more about companion gardening. she has enlarged
her beds and included delightful flagstone/ limestone pathways.
thus enabling more room for flowers that are great
companions for the vegetables.
still she includes her wonderful combination containers,
which i believe lend a certain expression of her layering effects.


of course this is the very early stages of the potager.
her veggies have not even been planted yet.
the society garlic just barely in the ground looks to be
trying to stand up just hardly a week after the worst freeze
this florida garden has seen in forever.




dusty miller and yellow violas are prominent
in the container that is keeping watch over the garden.


as we stand out in the garden and i'm getting a feel
for what she is trying to accomplish, meems says
let me go get my clippers while we are chatting.
dead heading all the while we are talking...i'm thinking i will
just take those dead headed seeds home with me and see
how they might do up in my garden.

yellow marigolds, purple angelonia, multi-coloured gazanias,
and society garlic line the outer edges of were the pole beans,
and some different lettuces will be planted.
it is all so exciting to see the beginnings of
this new garden especially since our time to plant
in tennessee is still months away.

i am learning so much from meem's years in the garden.
she is still learning and trying new things.
this is her first time planting ostica blue eye asters.
they are lovely.

these gazanias open with the sunshine and close up as it gets dark.

three varieties of blueberries, jewel, star, and prima donna

have made it in the ground along side a flowering

ground cover called golden globe.

there is a beautiful mosaic shallow bowl nearby

readily available for butterflies and birds.

meems made this herself, she is a very talented lady.

all the blue tiles makes it a stand out in her garden.

this particular plate came from a little antique shop up in tennessee.

pathway pavers lead from the front of meems

house to her potager.

even with all the plants that have damage from

the frosts her florida garden is so expansive i am only

going to focus on one area at a time...just wait til you see what's next.