...ego quod plantatum est.... Or, "I came, I saw, I planted."
I spent Mother's Day in what I consider the best way possible: a quick trip to Eastside Greenhouse and coming home to plant my haul.
For the veggies and herbs, I got: Big Boy, Golden Sunshine, and Sweet Cherry tomatoes. I got carrot seeds and radish seeds (truly enough for YEARS, but more on that in a moment). I got Rosemary, sweet basil, curly parsley, Lemon balm and chamomile. I bought two strawberry plants. For the flowers, I got two LARGE hanging baskets, and an "angel" plant that I'd never seen before. It's a spiky plant that is an annual and vaguely reminds me of foxgloves.
That one came in coral pink, baby pink and magenta. I got the coral pink. I'm assured that butterflies and bees love it. I'm in for that!
You can see the haul in the back of the truck. The two hanging baskets went up first. We moved them away from the brick (a) so they wouldn't bake as the weather got warmer; and (b) so that when it rains, Mother Nature can help with the watering.
Within an hour after we'd planted what we got, we had hummingbirds at these plants. This is what I'm talking about!
Hubby was all excited (yay!) because he saw a solar bird bath that might actually work. I'm excited about that too. The moving water will not only keep mosquitoes down, but it'll make it easier to keep the birdbath clean, and attract more birds. We've had bird baths forever, but they are difficult, with our water, to keep clean and the "solar" apparatuses we tried haven't seemed to work consistently. I'm hoping this one does, because I'm never going to talk him into a fountain or a pond!
To the right here are our lily of the valley. They desperately need to be thinned out, which I'll be doing in the next few weeks. I'd like to put them in pots on the back deck, but Hubby says he's got "a few more things to do" for it. We shall see. I love these plants and I'm so happy they're flourishing.
Speaking of flourishing, I was picking some of the Monster Bleeding Heart. And I about dropped my clippers. This is the longest string of bleeding hearts I've ever seen on this plant. I didn't pick it. I figured it was good to leave it there. There are fifteen hearts on this stem. I'm so happy every spring to see this old friend come back. It's like my harbinger of good things to come. 
Moving to the back garden, Hubby refilled the three raised beds. Seriously the best way to grow things because (a) it's compact gardening. This year we're spreading out, but typically, we fill these things to the hilt. It saves space and is more efficient in keeping the weeds down. And (b) our soil is not your typical "Illinois black dirt" that's famous. Nope. We've got the "famous" --- or "infamous" clay. Yep, right under that set of planters, there's maybe 2" of black dirt (our contractor was hardly generous in this regard) and under that? Clay. Nothing grows in clay except our maple trees, apparently! The top picture there is 7 heads of romaine, and 4 rows of carrots, of two varieties. The carrots are slightly crowded, but we will thin them out. Normally, we'd crowd that space with lettuce, but Hubby and I are the only two here. Nobody's going to eat that much lettuce, and then when you try to give it away, people look at you as if you're handing them yet another zucchini!
The middle bed holds an odd combination of bedfellows... two strawberry plants and two rows of radishes. I love radishes. According to a holistic website, I'm correct in my love for these little spicy red globes. Aside from the fiber aspect (and we all need a little more fiber), they're a natural detoxifier and diuretic. They'll clean out your liver and your kidneys. They'll help you sleep (that's never been my view, but I'll go with it); they're actually very high in Vitamin C and can help you fight off cold and flu bugs. They have cooling and anti-inflammatory properties and they're a natural decongestant (seriously, a nice spicy radish will make your nose run!). They also have a high water content, are low in calories and help you feel full. Also, it's alleged that they can even help prevent cancer because of their sulphur containing compounds that can help protect cells from mutations.
Anyway, I'm nuts about radishes and can't wait to grow my own again!
And in the last bed are the tomatoes... The two in the containers are going to Kid #2. I hope he gets some good ones out of them. I reminded Hubby that we really need to keep the plants in trim - he once let the vines grow and grow and grow... The plants put so much energy into producing actual 12' long vines that there were about 3 tomatoes. Total. THREE tomatoes for all that greenery. So he'll hopefully keep them from growing like crazy and I may get tomatoes. After tonight's forecasted rain, we'll put the lids on the beds, so that the squirrels won't have a heyday in there. The lids will eventually come off once everything settles in. I'm thinking of putting a "fence" down the middle of the strawberry/radish patch, because the berries can really take over.
Whole 30 Update...
So I kept going. Ish. I'm slowly introducing more variety into my eating, and still not really snacking like I used to. My body is responding by continuing to lose weight (yay!) and as of Day 41, I'm down a little over 10 lbs.
I admit - I was getting discouraged, because in the 30 days, I didn't see much. But like they promised, I do see some changes now. It just took me a bit longer. I'll keep on keeping on and hopefully will be able to see long-term, positive changes.
Knitting...
I'm on Point # 12 of the Close to You Shawl. That's 12 out of 18. So it's humming along and I got a good bit done this weekend. I also put together a Mass that I could play on the guitar, and now I have to practice it till I can play it in my sleep. And hope that our organist isn't absent much so that I don't really have to worry about doing it! I also put on a few rows of the green traveling sock. It won't make it as a pair on the upcoming Colorado trip. It just won't unless I clear my entire schedule. And I'm not doing that for socks! They'll materialize. They always do.
You may notice something strange in the picture. I'm wearing nail polish. I haven't done that in years.
And now I know why. This lasted a total of 3 days. I removed it today because it was chipping. I'm not used to babying my hands and I was annoyed because it didn't last, even with a good top coat. And I don't have time to fiddle with it.
So off it went. And good riddance. I'll stick with pedicures. They last till I take the polish off, even when I'm barefoot so much. And I can't be worrying about my fingers. Between the knitting, the computer and the guitar (not to mention gardening and cooking), I've got enough to do without worrying about polish on the nails.
It was a nice try. Girly-girl just isn't me. Oh, don't get me wrong. I love my jewelry and I like to look nice, but the nail polish was kind of a disaster in the making, and I could tell I was being "hesitant" about doing things. Again: nice if you can do it, but not for me.
Random Picture...
Kid #2 gave me a Mother's Day gift after my own heart: an orchid and a book (Strangers on the Train...). He said, "Happy Mother's Day. Enjoy the book, and try not to kill the plant."That combination of sentiment and snark was just what I needed! You have to enjoy the balance he achieves.
Temporarily, the orchid is at the studio, on the altar. If it likes it there, it'll stay. Otherwise, it can sit next to the white one I got a few years ago.
Which I've managed to keep alive, and which actually may bloom again. I did get another one to bloom twice and then it died on me. Could be that I didn't water it enough.
Anyway, Kid #2 knows a guy down the street from us who he swears is "The Orchid Whisperer." If I get into trouble, he says that AJ can resurrect just about anything.
I'm going to try to keep this one alive as long as I can.
Tippi is beside my chair and giving me that "It's time for bed already" look. And I need to water the other orchid.
Tell me what you're reading and what you're knitting! Let's chat!
PS: Sorry about the sudden change of theme... When I previewed this, it was all wonky, with white stripes where words ought to be.
Oh well, this one's spring-ly.
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