Composting

My new compost bin.  I'm so excited about this compost bin.  It took awhile to get all the pallets but I know it was worth the wait.  I hate the thought of all the food we have wasted that could have gone in the compost, but we didn't have anywhere to put it.

New Addition to Walkway

 We recently moved these from the front bed to the edge of the sidewalk. These were just thrown in spots in the bed.  I got the idea that it would be nicer edging the sidewalk. It is a pretty lime green stripped type of monkey grass.  I originally thought that we only had about five clumps, it turned out once we started digging that we had a lot more and some were bigger so we split them.

 This is just the beginning of the slow process of redoing the front bed.  The landscaping that came with the house was not very pretty.  There are a few things I would like to keep but maybe move it around.  There are these two boxwoods just put behind a crepe myertle which look silly and I don't want any hedges so we are going to move them somewhere.  We hate to just throw them away.

I think something is happening

 I think I see something starting to sprout.  I have flowers on my strawberries and those look like blooms on my cucumbers.  I'm excited, I wasn't sure if we'd have anything to grow and produce.  I still have to plant the rest of my tomatoes tomorrow.  I will try some in the ground and some in the topsy turvy again, hope they work this year.

My Shade Garden

 This is the start of my shade bed.  I have Coleus, Hostas, hydrangeas and I will have ferns.  These pictures aren't very good. I just planted everything today, I'm not finished with the bed I still need some more dirt to build it up more, but I wanted to get some of my plants in.

I'm excited to start all of my flower beds.  I think on the other side of the house where it is mostly sunny I will have vine plants growing on trellis's.  I'm very anxious to have everything done and planted, but I know it will be a slow process because of time, labor and money.  Luckily I don't have to buy many supplies

 I have found free compost at the local landfill just a few miles from my house and I have a friend at work that has given me free horse manure and hay.

I have never explained the type of garden and flower beds I am planting, they are called Lasagna gardens. The concept is just layering different product that will keep out weeds and make the garden healthy.  I don't have that many layers nor do I have it up to 24 inches like you should but I think mine will work pretty good.The bottom layer is always newspaper or cardboard, then you can put down grass clippings, leaves, compost, hay, humus, peat moss, manure and just about anything.  I only used a few of these and didn't layer very much.  You can mix it up and use anything you have available.

Tornado

Yesterday there was a bad tornado.  Luckily no one was hurt bad. Bruce was at work and he said it got so bad they all went into the bathroom and the front doors were ripped off the hinges. Mississippi has been hit pretty hard by tornadoes in the last year.  We will pull through as always.

Bird's Nest

We just bought a Boston Fern a couple of weeks ago to hang on the front porch, I took it down to water and found a bird's nest with eggs.  It was kind of exciting but now I'm having a hard time watering it because I don't want to disturb the next too much or put my sent on it so the mother won't come back.

The start of my finished garden

Here is the start of my garden, the only thing I haven't planted yet are the tomatoes, the back spot behind the garden will be tomatoes.  We will also try some tomatoes in the topsy turvy again.  We tried last year but I don't think it got enough sun. We have about 4 different kinds of tomatoes, Super Italion, Rainbow Heirloom, Brandy Boy, and Atkinson.  We have about 20 plants of each, I got a little carried away.  I hope everything grows big and strong.  I know some stuff looks bad and I don't think they survied the transplant. So I will just be happy if a few things grow.

Fresh Caught Fish

I am so lucky to live with a chef, I get gourmet meals cooked for me all the time.  I know this may not be that much of a gourmet meal but anything home cooked is gourmet to me.  This is fresh caught fish and homemade hush puppies that Bruce made. A friend of ours caught some fresh catfish and bass at his dads lake and had so much he gave us some.  Bruce broiled the fish in lemon pepper and butter and wrapped in tin foil, it was delicious.

Crawfish Boil and Camping

The annual Crawfish Boil and cookout for Froghead Grill and Irish Frog






was held this year at Askew's Landing in Edwards, Ms. We cooked out and had a Bonn fire. We had a tone of food, crawfish, shrimp, hamburgers, baked beans, and snacks.  About six of us camped out, it was the first time we got to use our tent. We had fun, even though we nearly froze because it was a lot colder than we thought it would be, I guess March winds.

My Inside Cats Are Getting Spring Fever

My youngest is getting spring fever.  We have tried to make all of our 3 cats inside cats, but little Bella just won't have it.  Everytime she gets a chance she runs through the door.  Since we have moved into this house she isn't as bad because it's a bigger area and not as easy for her to get past us, but she has a few times.  Dusty our outside cat (see previous post) has become an inside cat since the move, but now that it is spring he wants out more.  We are trying not to let him out but sometimes you can't help it.  He was let out about a week ago and didn't come back for over a day, we were really scared we lost him since he isn't familiar with the neighborhood.  We even thought about the possibility that he tried to go back to Clinton like you hear about in stories. We are glad he is home safe and we aren't letting him out anytime soon.

Building trellis for beans, cucumbers, and squash

I found some bamboo along the side of the road and I cut down.  We have several things that will need to grow up.  I have read that this is one of the best ways to make the trellis.  It's a start.

Garden

I did buy a couple of plants that were already started for me.  I just put them in these pots.  i have some salad lettuce, spinach, ccucumbers, jalapenos, strawberries and cabbage. I will soon have to move the jalapenos to another location, I don't want them to mix flavors. 

My Little Plants

My seeds are doing so good, I'm almost scared to put them outside in the ground.