Glorious Gardening- or not...

There's a few things I've learned in life: always throw salt over your left shoulder, keep rosemary by your garden gate, plant lavender for good luck, and fall in love whenever you can.

Alice Hoffman- Practical Magic

Interesting Old Wives Tales:

Parsley is not only a sure sign of a strong woman, but will only grow outside the home of an honest man.

Basil stands for animosity. The gardener should curse with great gusto or the seeds will not grow.

Sage thrives in the garden of a woman who rules her household and her husband firmly.

Ivy is a lucky plant. If it grows on a house it protects those within from witchcraft and evil.



Wow! What a busy past 3 days... Friday Elton tilled up the whole yard, and we spread fertilizer and lime. Saturday was "Garden day" we planted peppers (green and red), onions, zucchini, yellow crooked neck squash, cucumbers, okra, watermelon, corn, and a bird house gourd plant (too many cute craft projects to pass that one up!)

We decided to use the hill method, and spread pine straw between the rows. I read in The Complete Guide to Gardening that it would inhibit weeds and help retain moisture in the soil. I guess it is worth a shot, and I think it looks really nice.

Today we put up a fence around the garden- it is lovely, but its primary purpose is to keep Brianna out of the garden! It is just too tempting for her, and since digging is one of her favorite outdoor activities... I'll try to post some pictures soon. Some of the end posts need to be cut down to size- it was getting dark when the last panel went up, and we were exhausted! My whole body aches! Hoping Shawn does not decide to make his grand entrance tonight- its all I can do to keep my eyes open! It's only quarter after 9, but I will soon be headed to bed. It's just as well, tomorrow will be an early morning.

It is Elton's first day of work, and he has to leave the house at 5:30! It's been quite a while since we have had to get up that early! I'm so thankful (and admittedly slightly guilty) that he spent his last few days of freedom working so hard on my projects! Bless him! I hope and pray he will like his new job and it will prove to be rewarding and enjoyable for him. I have gotten so used to him being home- I will be absolutely lost without him. Unfotunatly we didn't win the 180 some million dollar lottery last night, so off to work he goes... Brianna will hate him getting up so early and being gone when she wakes up- she's become Daddy's morning snuggle bunny these past few months.

I had planned on strawberry picking with the girls tomorrow. We'll have to see- my whole body aches! Too much getting up and down, squatting etc. Need to go to the grocery store. Maybe I'll make Elton some more Chicken Scampi as a "1st day of work dinner" he keeps talking about how much he liked it...

Few more things to finish in the yard- edging to keep the grass and garden seprate. Need to finish putting down the pine straw around the edges. We bought a soaker/sprinkler house for the garden- laid it all out, pinned it down, and turned it on to check it out. Very disappointed in the results- the first few feet worked great and then it completly lost pressure. We rolled it back up and will end up taking it back to Lowes... Great in theory- lousy in practice.