i'm finally catching up

So I just figured out how to edit photos on Flickr- through Picnik, and I spent all day doing it. I'm sure this is old news to, umm, everyone else on teh internets, but I think it's just swell!

I loooved the Lomo and Holga filters (of course!) but as they costed extra, I instead used the boost filter with a vignette over it. Love it!

I'm totally in love with the saturated colors I can add to my photos now- can't wait to print these out for cards or for the hallway or something.

gardening in bloom

It may be October, but that's not keeping part of my garden from blooming!



Cosmos


Lavender


Elecampagne- what you can't see is that it was 11 feet tall, and fell over in a storm. Beautiful!

Late bloomers

I checked my flickr page just to be sure, but I was right! My daffodils are only just now blooming- and only the smaller bulbs, not the larger daffodils. Last year, they peeked out in January, and bloomed by March 24th. Three years ago, they were blooming (granted, at my apartment, not my house) by March 20th. Where's the global warming?

come out, come out, wherever you are!

I bought some bulbs for 50% off last fall when I was refinishing my floors. I stashed them in the basement and promptly forgot all about them, until I discovered them a few weeks ago. They daffodils and alliums were sprouting in the bags! I picked up some potting soil, mixed it with some peat moss, and filled these pots to the brim. I probably should have planted the bulbs a bit deeper, but I did what I could. Spring has sprung!



(yes, that's part of a blender in the background. ha!)

fireworks

Some of my own fireworks...straight from the garden! Unlike the real ones, these last more than a few seconds, and are not loud and obnoxious (like my neighbors. right now).

Green Thumb Sunday

One of six lavender plants that I have purchased. It's blooming, but only becasue I bought it last week. Of the other five, one was also purchased last week, one is hanging in there, and three are long gone.



A lone bud on the dwarf coreopsis.



My dianthus, coming back. I bought these at annuals, pretty much killed the whole flat in one morning (no water + sun + heat = waste of money). I planted the few that still looked moderately green, and this one is coming back. I am hoping it will survive the winter and become a perennial for me.



I planted a whole packet of lobelia seeds, and this is the only one that grew.

Green Thumb Sunday



Join

No time for crafting

But that doesn't stop me from working in my backyard garden(s)! I'd like to say that I grew each and every one of these flowers from scratch, but that is just not true. The delphinium, coreopsis, pincushion flower and dianthus are all from 1# potted plants from Lowe's. They weren't even in the ground yet when I cut them for this Mother's Day bouquet. The roses are all mine, though! I planted three last year on the side of my house and they are growing like gangbusters. Expect more shots as the summer continues.



and my new secret for transporting flowers to/fro my mother's house? An oatmeal container!!! Vases never seem to stand upright in my cupholder or on the floor, so I tucked it inside an oatmeal container (emptied, of course!). It sits on the floor without tipping over. Brilliant!

they're really just onions

My garden is in full swing. I started seeds around March 20th, but thanks to crazy Indiana weather, couldn't plant them until last weekend.



I had marginal success- they grew quickly but most fizzled out before I could get them in the ground. I had good success with the pepper seeds I planted- we'll see how they fare. I also started tomatoes, cucumbers, squash, pumpkins, and herbs. I also direct sowed two types of beans and peas, and more of all of the above. I planted a ton of random flower seeds- Zinnias (Cut 'n Come Again, Pinwheel Mix, Purple), Cosmos (asst), Sunflowers (asst mix), Jasione, Gaillardia, Black Eyed Susan, lavender, and also a ton from my mom's house that she hadn't marked. We shall see!

Finally, the bulbs I planted last fall are beginning to bloom. I'm a bit of an allium freak and found some on clearance at Meijer- most went by my front steps covering up the fading daffodils. Some Globemasters by my mailbox have yet to bloom. I read on GardenWeb that they self sow rapidly, and I am very much looking forward to a garden full of alliums!

it's still january!

I moved into my house ten months ago, in late spring. Aside from four tulips, nine bushes and a cubic ton of weeds, there was no landscaping in my yard. So it's understandable that I went a little crazy last fall in the bulb buying department. I started out small- a few daffodils and crocuses here and there. I had a giftcard to Lowe's, so it's like they were free. Towards the end of the season, bulbs went on sale, so I bought more. Then clearance. The ground still hadn't frozen in November, so there I was at Thanksgiving, planting the rest of my bulbs. I lost count as to how many I planted. And what I planted. I saved all of the packaging, but I forget where exactly I planted everything.

This little guy started popping up last week. The grape hyacinths in the backyard sent shoots up in December, and there are several bulbs peeking up in the front yard. I just wish I could remember what all I planted. Hyacinth? Allium? Narcissus?



Someone should tell him it's still January, and spring is still far away.