Garden Planning

Since I've never grown a garden let alone planned one out, I needed some extra help this year. Through Pinterest I found Smart Gardener and signed up (it's free!). I was able to plan a garden using my zone, plot size, and sun angle.

Then you get to go and add all the vegetables, fruits, herbs, and flowers you want and arrange them in your virtual garden which will then reflect perfectly how you should lay it out in the real bed. They have a handy feature which allows them to arrange your garden for you based on all the variables. You can move and adjust and make everything perfect for you and your space. If you add a seed variety that won't have enough time to grow, it warns you.

On top of all that they give you weekly email reminders telling you that you should start -something- now.

For first time gardeners, this is great. In fact I could only find one downside... I didn't have enough room in my proposed garden for all the seeds I'd bought.

...bummer.

So, after that crushing disappointment, I re-grouped.

I decided that I'd grow my Red Wonder Wild Red Strawberries, Thessaloniki Tomatoes, and Dill in containers. My Schoon's Hardshell Melons are going to be in a separate raised bed on the front bank (where the most sun is available). The Arikara Sunflowers don't have a home yet, but I'm thinking Gramma's flower garden. The vegetable garden will contain: Blue Lake Bush Beans, Kuroda Carrots, Boston Pickling Cucumbers, Amish Deer Tongue Lettuce, Black Seeded Simpson Lettuce, Cimmaron Romaine Lettuce, Little Marvel Pea, King of the North Peppers, and Early Straight Neck Yellow Squash.

That's it so far, except for the blackberry bushes I'll be transplanting from a friends hillside. They'll go out with the blueberry bush (only one right now, his friend died) in my miniature berry patch.

As an aside about the blueberry bush. It did produce berries last year, but we didn't get any because I didn't know enough then to throw a darned screen over it! The reason it produced without a friend (blueberries need another bush to produce berries) is because there is half an acre of blueberry bushes across the road, owned by the Greenhouse. (It's awesome having a greenhouse/nursery across the road!)

I know it's not a whole lot, but this is where I'm starting and I am content to see what this endeavor will bring.

*As a side note, I was not compensated in any way for this review by the author(s)
of Smart Gardener, I just found it truly helpful and thought to share it.

God's Sense of Humor

Sunday morning came, and the alarm went off. I shut it off and decided that even though it was

Easter

, I wasn't going to go to Sunday school and church. I started thinking of a few excuses to give Gramma, because she's always concerned when I don't go and makes sure I know it! A few minutes later as I was drifting back into sleep my phone starts ringing obnoxiously loudly. I reach over to answer, sure it's my boss asking me something silly, and I see it's Gramma. I answer it because the only other time she had called (instead of texted) one of our cell phones, she had been in a terrible car accident. I said, "Good morning Gramma!" and she said, "Lisa, I've locked my keys in the car at the gas pump, can you please bring me my spare as soon as possible? Your mom is home right? She has my spares." I assured her that yes, I'd be there soon, and hung up.

I laid back in bed for a few seconds and all I could do was smile up at the ceiling and tell God He was a funny guy.

So I got up, got dressed and got in the car to rescue Gramma. The church is in the very same town I had to drive to, so there was no reason for me not to go and so I went, and thoroughly enjoyed service and adult class lessons.

It still is making me smile to think that He went through all that trouble to get me to church. What an awesome God we serve!

Spring!

Seeds are (hopefully) on their way, the garden has been raked out of dead leaves. Now it's just pulling the old flowers and the gigantic Yucca bush out of the garden and I'll be ready to sow/transfer. Just over a month until our last frost date!

I don't have a fence, but I'm sure I'm going to need something up. We have plenty of wild bunnies who could use fattening up. I am anxiously awaiting the nursery across the road to fly it's "Open" flag so I can run over and get mulch and some dirt.


We had our first real day of spring on Saturday and it was just glorious. Makes me anxious for the lovely days ahead. The crocuses were poking their heads out of the front flower bed adjacent to the driveway, there's something poking out of the flower garden (my new vegetable garden) it's tulips or hyacinths or daffodils, but I can't tell yet. Too bad they have to go. I'm (not so) secretly hoping that they are daffodils, my favorites. There are buds on the big lilac! I'm praying they don't get frozen off in another hard frost like most years. I simply love the smell of lilac.

I also have the following sewing projects promised:

Apron - Gramma (I'm thinking Quinn's Gathering Apron.)
Flat-Bottom Zipper Pouch - Amanda, purple.
Fix/Mend Zipper on Red Pants - Holly.
Small Curtain for Podium at Work.

And I went yesterday after work to a local fabric shop to look at a fabric for Gramma's apron and Amanda's purple zipper pouch, only to realize after getting halfway there that I was way too tired to be making the drive. I'd like to tell you that I then turned around and made for home, but it's not true. I made my way (slowly) to the shop and discovered it was closed! Color me disappointed.

Feeling a bit more awake, I decided to take a second way home... that I've taken only once before... and I'm sure you see where this is going. I got lost and made it to a town I've never been to before. Go me! I turned around, drove all the way back and found the right road and went home. Jeepers!