Befuddled

The weather appears to have stabilized enough to get some veggies into the ground. I have my planters and garden beds sorted, now it's on to soil prep. For the containers I'll mix, in equal parts give or take, peat moss-vermiculite-soil-sand. This mix will support new plants or seeds keeping them damp and protected as well as enabling new sprouts to push through the mix without using up too much energy.

For those on a budget you can always swap plants with friends or neighbors. For everyone looking to start or add to a garden there is always someone that needs a garden thinned which means extra plants. It could be a perfect excuse to meet a new neighbor or give a much needed hand to an older one. So green thumb your way through your address book and start asking. For those really new to the garden you'll be shocked at the cost of building even a two by five foot bed.

This pic shows chives growing from one befuddled looking planter on the stone step to the deck.

Many Pieces

I'm back after a very physical week. The new gardens are falling into place quite nicely and the sculpted stone patio I've been working on is nearing completion.

This week I also acquired about a dozen or so medium and large plants for the deck. Palm and grass type tropicals that were freebies left over from a house resale.

The sellers of the property moved out leaving many pieces of garden art along with the potted plants which I found unusual. That is until the new owner informed me the sellers were also dissolving their marriage.

Always sad to hear but to see the personal touches like plants and garden decor abandoned really punctuates the situation.

Today I have a pic of a neighboring property that raises horses.