Gardening 2011

                                                        violas

                                                                cosmos

                                                   cosmos and bachelor buttons

                                                        stocks

                                    If these grow up they will be the prettiest flowers called scabiosa or pincushion
                                            flowers.

                                                        poppies

                                                   more poppies

                                                   So many hollyhocks!!!! Where to put them??

Pots I found at Goodwill waiting for violas

                                            Lots of little alyssums which will go in hanging baskets

Emma and I have been very busy making a new garden for Spring 2011.  We started the end of January planting some flowers we hope will be very beautiful.  Feeling a little more confident as seed planters, we hand picked some beauties, some of which may be a little ambitious.  We planted poppies (iceland and oriental), delphiniums, hollyhocks, stocks, two types of sunflowers, violas, pansies, bachelor buttons, three types of cosmos, pincushion flowers, and alyssums. I also planted some african daisies so I could try to identify some plants I have from last spring that have not bloomed and thought they might be african daisies.  The violas surprised us and bloomed very soon after putting them in bigger pots and they are soooo cute.  So many seeds came up that we are worried about where to plant them all.  Especially the hollyhocks and sunflowers which are going to be very tall. 

Hoping for a New Friend!!!

There is the sweetest little bear being given away at http://www.binglebears.com/.  Emma is hoping to have a new friend come and live with her and her friends or perhaps live with her friend Henry.  Either way, she is keeping her paws crossed.

In Her Easter Bonnet......

Me:  Wow, Emma, you look beautiful in your Easter outfit.

Emma: Thank you, I feel very much like Spring today.

Me:  You look very much like Spring.  Did you hunt for Easter eggs?

Emma:  No, I hid them for the other bears.  The Easter Bunny needed help.

Me:  That was nice of you.  Were there good things in the eggs?

Emma:  Oh yes, candy and some coins and small toys.

Me:  I see you have two eggs in your basket.

Emma:  Yes, they did not find these.  They were hidden in a special place.

Me:  Where were they hidden?

Emma:  In my basket.  They are extra pretty and I did not want them to get messed up in the grass.

Me:  Well, I am sure you worked hard and deserve two eggs of your own.  Happy Easter Emma.

Emma:  Happy Easter Everyone!!

Grow Little Plants Grow!!

african daisies

cosmosgypsophilanasturtiumsforget-me-notsshasta daisiessunflower mixblack-eyed susans, tomatoes, ???astersherb mix

perennial mix

Emma: They still do not look like flowers.
Me: No, we still have to be patient, they are still baby plants.
Emma:  Well, they are getting bigger, I guess.
Me: Yes they are, remember how big the seeds are?
Emma:  Yeah
Me:  Well, don't you think it is amazing that these plants came from those tiny seeds?
Emma:  Actually yes, that is amazing!

Another Day of Gardening...

Emma: Did you take the pictures?
Me:  Yes I have them all ready to load.
Emma: Great, so let's tell everybody what we planted.
Me: Okay go ahead.
Emma:
Okay, Here is what we planted on the 17th of March:
                    Lupine
                    Sunflowers
                   Shasta Daisy
                   Aster
                  Cosmos
                  Nasturtiums
                 African Daisy
                 Horn of Plenty
                 Zinnia
                 Wildflower Mix
                  Cayenne Peppers
                  Tomatoes
                  Rudbeckia
         On March 24th:
               Perennial Mix
               Gypsophila
               Helichrysum
               Forget-Me-Not
               Mini Herb Garden
                     Basil/Chives/Parsley/Dill
              
        On March 26th:
               Snapdragons
               Sunflowers
               Basil- Cinnamon
               Columbine
        On March 28th:
             Alyssum- Rosie O'Day
             Hummingbird wildflower mix
        
   Emma:  Woah, that is a lot of planting!  Ready with the pictures?
Me: Ready.

First we have Asters.

Sunflowers

Cosmos

Me: I would say these are big enough for us to put in the garden.

Emma: Yes, you definitely should.

Me: You don't want to help?

(Emma points to her feet with her paws and makes an upper sweeping motion towards her chest and says in an "isn't it obvious" sort of voice)

Emma: White Fur!

Me: Yeah, I guess beautiful white fur and dirt do not mix.

    

                         

                                 African Daisy

                                          

                                                                      Lupine

                      

                                           Shasta Daisy

                      Green Pot: Rudbeckia  Not up yet: tomatoes  Prolific Sprouters: cayenne peppers

Emma: I hope someone likes cayenne peppers!

Me: I planted those for Matt he wants to make hot sauce.

Matt's Herb Garden

Emma: Did Matt plant it?

Me: No I planted it for him.

Emma: Is that all the pictures? What about the rest?

Me: That is all that has sprouted.

Emma: So, when will they become flowers?

Me: It will be a while, we have to be patient.

Emma: Well, they are going to be beautiful.

Me:  Just like you Emma.

               

A Fairly Productive Day..

"Well, it was a productive day." observed Emma.  "Yes it was."  I agreed.  "Chewy is happy because he has a clean cage and our little seedlings got a spray of water."  she said.  "Well, I don't know if Chewy is too happy, he doesn't like his poop being messed with."  I added.  "That is true, very small animals do not like their poop being messed with."  Emma agreed.  "True, they get it the way they like and work hard at the process and we come and wreck it all."  I observed.  "But, it smells much better, so he will have to get over it."  I added.  "Can we tell everybody what we have planted?" asked Emma.  "Tomorrow, " I said. "I am tired, good night Emma."  "Good night!"  she said.

It is getting warmer!!

"Wow, it is a lot warmer today." observed Emma.  "Yes it is and I am not too happy about it."  I said.  "When will it be cool again?" asked Emma.  "Not until close to Christmas."  I replied.  "Hey, where is the Christmas countdown counter?"  she asked.  "Well, our blog was hijacked, so I removed the gadgets on the side because they were letting in bad stuff."  I said.  "Was it hijacked by pirates?" she wondered."  "No, just by freaky foul fiends who have nothing better to do than to be annoying to other people. " I replied.  "So, how will we know how long it is until Christmas?"  she wondered.  "We can count ourselves"  I replied.  "The counter had 272 days on it so we will just keep track ourselves."  "Well, I think that could be fun, we can call it the CCD, CCD=272."  she said.