Getting out to the Garden

Yesterday the beautiful sunshine came out, and it felt like an early summer day.  Despite my back being persnickety the last few days, I was not about to let such a beautiful day go by without a little spring planting getting done.

The first project on my list, since Gary was free to help in the garden for a couple of hours, was to revamp my herb garden.  My rosemary had grown quite large, and the majority of it was not doing very well, and my sage was also getting on with age.  I had some other herbs planted that I didn't really use, and also wanted to reclaim that space.  So after Gary dug out the large old herbs, I got started planting new ones.

Here is my tiny new rosemary plant, this is the same size I planted before, and it is amazing how fast they turn into pretty large shrubs.  I will look forward to the blossoms next year.

The old rosemary bush was so large that it had completely covered this garden obelisk, so it is nice to have it uncovered. The other large herb in the picture is my lemon thyme, I left both of my thyme plants in the herb garden, they needed a little pruning, but they are still doing very.

I decided to plant parsley again, I love having fresh parsley in the garden, this time, however, I will not let it go to seed. The first year we planted it here, it went to seed, and planted itself all through the garden, and was quite a nuisance.  I do think it is very pretty, and may buy another one to tuck into the herb garden next time I am in the garden center.

Here is one of the new little sage plants I put in, I am hoping this does well, I love it for fall cooking, I am still on the lookout for a purple variety that I enjoyed at our last home, I love purple next to the blue/green of the other sage.

I also decided to re-purpose the birdbath that was in the herb garden, It wasn't getting cleaned properly, and the birds really prefer the birdbath that I have a dripper attached to.  I had seen a picture of a birdbath planted with succulents, and decided to fill it with succulents that I have all around my garden.  Over the years with the dogs running through the garden, they have kicked up little bits of sedum that have replanted themselves throughout the garden.  I always just let them grow wherever they land on our gravel pathways, I think it gives the garden a more natural look.  So this was a free project, I used the last of a bag of potting soil from last year that I found while I was tidying up the garden, then I went around and plucked little bits of various sedums and hens and chicks, and tucked them into the soil.  I look forward to watching this birdbath garden fill out.

Here is one of my stray patches of sedum, I think this one might be babies tears, which is one of my favorite varieties.

I also planted some basil in pots, I don't plant basil in with my other herbs, since it has different water needs.  I look forward to white pizza. :)

The swiss chard is doing well, and I will probably be able to pick some in a week or two.  Swiss chard is my favorite green leafy veg.

Another sign that the garden is up and running are all of the dandelions that have sprouted up over the last couple of weeks.  We take out most of them, but leave the rest for the finch who enjoy them, and I happen to think their sunny yellow blossoms are very pretty.

The tulips are getting ready to bloom, the red tulips have already opened, the rest of the colors are going to be a surprise as I purchased a mix bag last year.

The grape hyacinth are still doing nicely, and a fancy variety that I tried out this year has just come up, it has a tighter blossom and is lighter purple, I look forward to seeing what it looks like when it is all the way up.  I am also eagerly awaiting the black iris whose leaves have popped up.  I am always fascinated by black flowers, I found a very pretty black petunia that I will be planting this week as well.

I am looking forward to the warmer weather season, and am enjoying getting the garden ready, all of the veggie and summer flower seeds are ready to go as soon as the weather is warm enough.

Just a quick note- my 52 Weeks of fairy tale post for this week will be delayed for another day or two, with my back giving me troubles this week I was unable to sit and craft my project that I have planned.  Back pain can be beyond frustrating, heat always helps out my back, but I can't stand laying around on a heating pad all day. A couple of years ago I found a very useful item at my local pharmacy, it is a wrap that can velcro around your back and holds a gel pack which can be heated or used cold.  It is so nice to be able to pop the gel pack into the microwave for a minute then be able to walk around with a nice heat pack, definitely takes the edge off, my stomach doesn't tolerate anti-inflammatory medicine very well so this item is a must have for me.

Here is a link to the back heat pack I use, it is nice that it is reusable, mine has lasted for quite some time.

I hope everyone is having a nice Sunday, I look forward to catching up on my Fairy Tale posts this week, as well as getting back out into the garden some more.