I Spy....

Garden....stuff!!!!!!!

Yes, folks, all that stuff you see packed in my car (what the hell was I thinking not taking Kevin's Explorer?!? I could have fit way more stuff in!!!) is the beginnings of what will be our first real garden! I talked about it in this post and since I once again spoke (or typed) before I thought I figured I better get out there this weekend and get this garden going! So we were up early and not-so-bright (it is cloudy and chilly here today) and at the local nurseries having a ball choosing what we are going to plant! And in true Kristen fashion, despite having my list in my hand, we bought more than we planned on. And the thing is, now, I am so excited I want more. What we bought is still literally in the car and I am ready to go out and buy more!

What you see in the car is:

* 3 types of tomato plants: Roma, cherry, and Better Boy

* 2 types of peppers: sweet banana peppers and yellow bell peppers

(I would still like some red or green peppers, too)

* Burpless sweet cucumbers * Zucchini

* Strawberries!!! * Blueberries!!!

(sooooo excited for both of these!!!)

* A darling little pumpkin plant!!!

(yep! I am gonna attempt it!)

   * Sweet basil      * Greek Oregano

         * German Thyme      *Italian flat leaf parsley

* Sage

(Apparently I am quite the multi-cultural herb grower...)

* There is also red, white, and blue-ish petunias in there and red and white impatiens.

* And a whole crap load of soils!!!

* And you can't see them in the picture but I found these very cool, very cheap, bamboo vegetable cages! I was so excited because those metal ones are so ugly!

So the plan for the rest of this weekend is this....go to the BBQ at my brother's house today and drink heavily so I can temporarily forget the insanity that will ensue tomorrow as we attempt to plant a garden together and stay married all at the same time!!! Tomorrow morning we will be at it nice and early. The goal is to get the garden and herbs planted then take stock of what we still need to make the yard look the way we want it to and head back out to the garden centers. We still need more flowers. And we need crushed stone and mulch. And soon we will need some shrubs and hosta. We have big plans for our yard. Well, maybe not big, but plans nonetheless. For five years our yard has just been OK. I am not OK with OK. I want fanfrickintabulous!!! I can't settle for anything less. Each year we do put together some pretty pots and such and it looks...nice. But it is time to really get our hands dirty and do a few things that are more permanent. 

When we moved here there were two huge rhododendrons in front of our house that I can't stand. It is not that I don't like rhodos, it is just that the people who lived here before us let them grow like crazy. They were practically blocking the windows. And there were only two, which is so not balanced at all. I have to have things in odd number groupings. I just think it is so much more pleasing to the eye, whether it is with landscaping, decorating, crafts, whatever. Anyway, each year we trim them but they just look awful. They are about to bloom so once the flowers are gone in a couple weeks, Kevin and my brother are going to rip them out. Our first summer here we planted some boxwoods that I really love and I would like to add another. And we are going to look in to other small-ish shrubbery to plant all across the front of the house. I have been driving around and snapping pictures of shrub groupings in yards that I like so I have an idea of what I want to do in our front planting bed. Then I am going to plant some impatiens in the front for summer color (the front of our house barely gets any sun, and I love how fast impatiens grow and spread).

When we were at one of the garden centers today I saw a beautiful pot all made up with red geraniums, white petunias, and blue lobelia. I knew it would look perfect on my front porch (I usually just do a pot of geraniums with dracena spikes and vinca). But the pot I saw was over $30! I know I can make one up cheaper myself. So that is added to the list.

Things we still need to get:

* More red and white impatiens, including three hanging baskets

* The flowers for the red, white, and blue pot for the steps

* Decorative low fencing to put around our little garden

* Crushed stone (we need to have this delivered because we need a lot!)

* Mulch (this will be the last thing we get)

* Stone pavers to go underneath the firepit my brother and sister-in-law got us for Christmas that we are dying to use!

* Stone pavers for the little walkway we are making out back, leading to the little floral border we are creating around the base of this big old tree in our yard!

* I might need some more planting pots for some of the stuff I want to do. I have to check what we've got.

* Shrubs and hosta for the front planting bed and this little shady area on the other side of our house that is already bordered and dug up.

Yep. I've got big plans! Probably a little too big, but I am excited! I have never been this excited to do stuff in the yard. Of course, in the spirit of keeping it real, I should probably admit to myself that part of the reason I am so excited is this is all pretty stuff and Kevin will be the one doing most of the hard stuff. I just get to do the pretty stuff!

So, it is out there now...in words AND pictures! There is no turning back now. I think I will try to post a weekly garden update and maybe that will inspire some of you that really know what you are doing when it comes to gardening to post, too....so I can learn more!!!

~*~ Happy Saturday ~*~