Monday, May 23, 2016

CLICK PLANT GROW Blog Circle {Seeds to grow}

Over the river and through the woods to grandmother's house we go.  Actually, it was the interstate the whole way.   In the past few weeks, more steps have been taken in efforts to hopefully grow some vegetables this year. One step involved taking a trip to my parents house during the recent school break.  The kids and I packed up our stuff and off we went. They looked forward to not only visiting their grandparents, but their new fluffy spring family additions as well.  Not only was I looking forward to spending time with family as well but I hoped to gain some more valuable insight from my dad about gardening.....and a few "fool proof" vegetable seeds.

Allow me to explain. My father is an avid gardener.  So much so that I think he has 6 green thumbs. Always has, for as long as I can remember. Take a look at some of his produce from a previous season.









 See what I mean??????

When we decided to try and grow some vegetables again this year (its been a few years) my first thought was "Dad, help!"  I figured he would give me some good tips, which he did. I also hoped that he would share some of his seeds, which he did. Score!
I am not sure why, but I just feel that because he is so great at gardening that if I use his seeds they are just guaranteed to grow.  At least I hope! If they do not, well then it will confirm the sad truth that I was not born with green thumbs.

Happily he shared some of his seeds. We selected Cucumber, Tomato, Peppers, Green Beans and Zucchini.

Inside his little greenhouse the seeds were planted.



He has already got the shelves filled with seedlings just waiting to be planted.


Even the annual fig tree is waiting to come outside.  Yes, that's right a fig tree in western NY. I don't know how he does it, but there have been fresh figs the past few years. 


Along with planting vegetables, a variety of "sunflower" seeds were planted too!


His method of storing seeds, pretty simple. In little glass mason jars.  Can you tell which bean is the green bean??? Me neither, but my dad can.
Honestly, when this picture was taken I believe the green bean seeds were at the bottom of the jar and and were just not visible.


Into the starter packs they go.


A little greenhouse selfie here for you. LOL.

Did I mention previously that there were new fluffy additions to their homestead?  While one minion was busy planting seeds, the other minion was busy keeping an eye on these.

Aren't they stinkin' adorable??  These little ones are baby Cornish Hens.



He just enjoyed visiting and helping his grandfather take care of them. They were kept in a temperature controlled shed when these photos were taken as it was still too cold for them to be placed outside.


Honestly, how adorable is that?


Although, this one in particular, is not too fond of my presence or my camera.


These girls here are two weeks older than the Cornish Hens and are egg laying baby chickens. Now my father did tell me what breed of chickens they were, but unfortunately that detail did not quite stick in my brain.


I think they are comically cute themselves. 




Not long after planting the vegetable and flower seeds, the other caregiver was checking in on the baby chicks too. 

That is where we currently are in our gardening process. In the upcoming weeks we hope to have two gardening beds ready to go and some annual flowers planted too!

Don't forget to continue on with the blog circle and visit Courtney next to see what is going on in her garden. Thanks for stopping by!

Happy Gardening,

~Lisa


Tuesday, May 17, 2016

THE KIDS WERE HERE

{Bathtub Wilderness}



Apparently we mean business at bath time around here!

~Lisa

Monday, April 25, 2016

CLICK PLANT GROW Blog Circle: Spring Clean Up Cont'd

We have had a few wonderfully warm spring days this past week in the northeast. I took advantage of the warmer weather and tackled some more spring clean up.  Cleaning out the flower pots were next on the list.  This past fall was the first year that I did not get to cleaning them out and storing them under cover properly for the winter.  Well, lesson learned. Not only does the previous fall clean up help make the spring prep much easier, it also extends the life and beauty of your pots. Mine did not hold up so well during the winter out in the elements.  Some of my clay pots did crack. For example, see the off-white pot below.  



Here are some of my weathered pots in need of TLC. Please excuse the harsh quality of light in these photos. A beautiful, sunny, cloud free blue sky day is great for outdoor yard work, but not so good for photographs. 



From clay pots cracking to color fading on the plastic planters....


To paint peeling right off.  
The pots were gathered, emptied, washed and scrubbed in preparation for their little face lift.

What did I use? Good old spray paint. I had a number of spray cans left over from last year.  I have to say that the Rust-Oleum Ultra Cover is by far the best.  Fast, full coverage with less coats.   FYI - I recommend using gloves if you use this variety of spray paint. Otherwise you may be scrubbing your hands for two days with a Scotch brand green scrubby in order to get the paint off your skin. 

Here they are after a fresh coat of paint. Now, all they need are some pretty flowers.

 I have this old chair and use it as a plant stand on our back porch. One of the large yellow pots sits right in the middle of it. The finish was old and chippy when I picked it up free from a yard sale a few years ago. However, the chippy paint has steadily fallen off. It is in need of a new finish but I am not sure exactly what to do with it. Anyone have any suggestions?

Around the yard there has been some more signs of spring.  Remember the demonic looking Snowball Bush flower bud from my last post? 


 This is what it looked like two weeks ago. 



This is what it looks like now.  Little by little it is getting there! 



What other signs of spring have we had? Why the return of the Dandelions of course!  
What signs of spring have you noticed?  

Please continue along the Click Plant Grow blog Circle and visit Susanna at My Life In Color and check out what is going on in her garden. 

Thank you so much for stopping by!

Happy Spring, 

Lisa 



Wednesday, April 20, 2016

Game Time


Circa 2011~  You have come a long way kid. Let the Lady Bulldogs 2016 games begin!!