itchin' to get dirty

it's april already and i am just dying to get into the dirt and start a garden! i love fresh veggies and herbs and flowers to pick for my table, but i am overwhelmed by the amount of work it takes to get things going.

i have tried in the past, to garden with the old-fashioned method of plowing a plot and planting. it's just too much work for one person and i DO NOT get gardening help from anyone else in the hellhole! they are not interested. as soon as the plants start to get some veggies, the weeds take over and the heat gets too intense. i harvest those first few goodies and then it's too much for me, i hide inside in the air-conditioning and the garden turns into a wild jungle!

i have, also, in the past, done a garden with the "lasagna method".

basically, you don't plow or dig at all, ya just layer a bunch of organic material to create a perfect bed for your seeds or plants. i LOVED this method, it worked really well, and made for a neat, tidy, practically weed free garden. (incidentally, this is a great book, you should check it out!)

but, it is already late in the season and this method does take some preparation time.

soooooooooo, now i'm considering planting in pots and containers. which also takes a little prep time, but not as much. it also means, i have to get those pots and containers! and the potting mix...and the plants...and, oh, who am i kidding, what i really want is for some garden angel (not to be confused with a guardian angel) to come and do it all for me!!!

seriously, i received my weekly e-mail from almanac.com today and it had a few tips for container gardening, such as:

a) soil mix for containers- 1 part peat moss, 1 part rich garden soil or potting soil, 1 part sand
- with a trowel, mix the ingredients in a bucket or wheelbarrow until well blended. use for outdoor potted vegetables or flowers.
b) veggies need at least five hours of full sun
c) you must give attention to selecting the proper varieties and choosing the proper container
d) container gardening with flowers is a great way to instantly introduce color, fragrance and beauty into the landscape.
e) great annuals for pots include: begonia, browallia, dusty miller, fuchsia, lobelia, marigold, morning glory, portulaca, snapdragon, statice, sweet alyssum and sweet pea.
f) great perennials for pots include: astilbe, bee balm, bleeding heart, coneflower, evening primrose, hosta, hybrid daylily, speedwell and tansy.

there ya go, give it a try. and now that i've written this, i am even MORE ready get out there and get dirty!!!

grateful today:
1. for the mockingbird noisily singing out my window
2. for my hairdresser who has been cutting mine and my girls' hair since forever!
3. for the good health that t.willie is blessed with

all the little women

have you seen the movie "little women" starring susan sarandon and winona ryder? at the beginning, the gals are gathering around the breakfast table and they are lamenting the hard times the family is experiencing. then each girl names an item they want for christmas, and amy says wistfully, "i'm desperate for drawing pencils." and shortly after when they begrudgingly give their breakfast away to that poor family, she says "i am a selfish girl."
well, after reading the amazing book "three cups of tea" by greg mortenson, i, too, feel like a selfish girl. it is the unbelievable true tale of greg's adventure as an ex-mountain climber in pakistan. he falls down a steep mountain after helping to rescue another climber and ends up lost and exhausted in a remote village. his tale tells of how the village takes him in and nurses him back to health. after seeing the conditions of the children's "school"- a bare patch of ground, he promises to come back from america and build them a school. with no money, home or transportation, the challenges and hardships greg goes through to build that school makes me feel so lucky. he dedicates his life to the education of pakistani children- especially girls, the "little women."
go out today and get this book- from a library, a bookstore or someone's home book collection! you will appreciate what we have as americans, however selfish we may be! (oh, and rent "little women", also!)

grateful for:
1. flavored coffee
2. basset hound ears
3. t.willie's laugh