I have discovered a new passion. Gardening.
How cool is it to be 34 and allowed to play in the dirt? To be able to plant and nurture plants? It's been fun to pick out and plant my flowers. I had fun online researching ways to care for them, how sensitive they are and what other flowers I could have in my yard where it's shadier.
I've planted pansies, dahlias, geraniums, marigolds, begonias and a few others that I can't remember the names of. I have fushias to plant and a daisy type flower to put in a pot, but I can't get one right this moment, so they can wait another day.
While most of these flowers are annuals, my neighbour told me about a friend of hers who "winters" her geraniums in her home. Seriously?! I can do that?! After a little research, I've found out how and when to do it. I'm hoping I can be successful. Normally, flowers and I don't get along really well.
I anxiously wake up each morning to see if my flowers are still there, surviving the outdoors. I've never done this before. I have always wanted to. My neighbours always have such gorgeous flowers in their yards every summer. I've always been a wee bit jealous. I just never could trust the kids not to pick them. Now that Grady is almost 3 and Logan's 9 and Olivia's almost 6, they understand better that these are mommy's flowers and she doesn't want anyone to touch them. And because Grady follows much of what his brother and sister do, I count on them to not touch them to provide the example! So far, so good.
I love to prune them, take away the dead flowers and leaves, water and fertilize them. I love the colors and I could just stand outside by one of the pots and just stare at the flowers. I know that sounds a bit crazy, but I've always loved flowers and taking pictures of them. One of my flowers actually glitters a bit in the sunshine!! If I could have fresh cut flowers in my home all the time, I would!
This all stems (pun intended) from a single Chinese evergreen that I purchased at Walmart a couple of years ago for 10 dollars. It was SO small. It has grown and grown. I also had an ivy and another vine that I just sort of took care of when I remembered, and they managed to survive my neglect. But as I saw the evergreen and my vines flourish under my care, it became a hobby. My husband calls me the "Mengele of Plants". I have had some bad luck with some plants. Lack of light in my home and finicky plants like ferns, have definitely left some plants to suffer under my "care". If it has flowers on it, damn, that dies right away. I have improved however, and now I have my original three plants, a spider plant, a lipstick plant, an African violet that I've come close to killing MANY times (killed one already), a rubber tree plant, a schefflera and some sort of palm. The palm is exploding. I almost forgot my Christmas cactus and my false arealla. The false arealla has come very close to death. Somehow, I've managed to bring back what looks like three sticks, to growing leaves on top of the tallest stalk. I'm not sure what Olivia gave me for mother's day, but I'm trying to keep it alive.
So now, it stands to reason that I would head outdoors and work on flowers outside. The biggest downside is that my yard is almost grass-less. So when you approach my yard, it looks all nice with the pretty flowers and such, then you come in and YUCK! Dried black dirt. Patchy grass of some sort. I'm trying to keep it tidier now. I think that's because of the plants!
Now...what can I plant by my front door??
Stay tuned for the update! LOL
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