FREE Roses?

Roses for Valentines Day? Nah! Hubby and I agreed long ago...flowers with roots only! So how did these long stemmed beauties end up beautifying my kitchen? Well...

It was Saturday afternoon and less than 24 hours to the biggest smack talking event of the year. With desperation we found the nearest Wal-Mart and then Sam's Club. Preparations needed to be made! As we scavenged the stores for much needed supplies we came up empty handed! Whatever would we do when the family came and we had naught to offer except Soda and Beer. On our way out of Sam's Club (with our measly purchases) the receipt checker posted at the door asked if we'd like a flower. There was a wide variety of flowers featured in store bouquets. So I asked my oldest daughter if she'd like one. Can you guess what she answered? She was handed (to my surprise) a lovely long stemmed rose. And then the girl took the time to find a thornless rose for my 3 year old daughter. Who immediately cried out, "Now, I'm like a Barbie Doll!" By this time a rather long line had formed behind us so she got quite the chuckle.

But I had no time for all this cuteness! I am on a mission and I mustn't be thrown off track. So with one more stop at a grocery store I was ready! Of course, now it's 9 o'clock at night and I've less than 15 hours to prepare.

On Sunday morning, I awoke bright and early. I began cutting, chopping, mixing, grilling, baking. Hours passed as I frantically threw together recipe after recipe. Finally the family arrived. You could tell that it was going to be a tense day as the smack talk started early! As we ate Ranch Ham salad in Kaiser Roll bowls and munched on chips with 3 types of homemade dips the teasing continued. And finally the moment of truth was here: Time to drop the Green Flag. As Darryl Waltrip says so well, "Boogity Boogity Boogity, Let's go Racing, Boys!" And it just so happens that my team had the pole position. Go Lowes! (We built our log cabin by hand but whatever we needed to buy came from Lowes. Gotta stay loyal to my favorite company.) Ah, but that happiness was not to last for me as the Lowes Car ran into trouble all day long ending with getting spun down into the dirt. My father and oldest daughter were rooting, cheering, crying for Junior all afternoon. Hubby watched the Jim Beam car (he's loyal to his favorite company too~heehee) as it had a decent start to the race season. And my mother was thrilled that Bobby Labonte wasn't involved in any wrecks.

Not even a pace car could've slowed down the good natured verbal bashings that continued throughout the race. With homemade pepperoni and chicken wing pizzas for dinner it was the perfect family fun day! Aside from the roses there was no talk of gardening or anything flower related. My "accidental forcing" bulbs are doing well. I think I'll have a couple beautiful spring containers. No yesterday Green didn't stand for flowers, eco-friendly, or gardening instead it stood for Green Flag Racing.

The beauty of a New Bed

Yesterday I posted a computerized layout of my garden. Shortly after I realized that the layout was quite ugly! I defintely had a 'What was I thinking moment'! But I use the layout as a way to plan my next move and (although it's not to scale) it does give me a pretty good idea of where the garden stands~or lies...whatever. So today, I've decided to stroll down memory lane with a few of my new backyard garden beds. The picture above is the completed bed next to the house.

It started out as an ignored area to house snow-mobiles. I say ignored because no matter how many times I begged hubby... He ignored.

This is before the tilling began. Why did my hubby stop ignoring me? Maybe because I came home with this one day...

Two very generous gardeners and very dear friends had let me pick through they're compost and rock piles. And I'm not too proud to go roaming through a compost pile especially when it's full of newly "uprooted" bulbs. Although, they needed to be removed from their old home for a new project I just couldn't bear to let them just rot in a compost pile. So I dove in! And what a great friend she was to let me! The rocks were donated by a longtime friend of mine who overheard me saying that I was in need. He quickly volunteered to let me get what I needed from a stone wall that needed to be removed. Sometimes, the planets and stars all align... And then sometimes you realize that you have some awesome friends!


My first "garden visitor". Bandit the cat is very well-behaved in a garden and can often be found laying under some of the plants. But that night he was strolling through the half completed garden inspecting the work. Some plants in bloom to add color and some mulch complete the 2 day project. Ofcourse, now it's all hidden under snow. But I remember.

Accidental Forcing

I spent most of yesterday (another cold and icy day) wishing that I could begin my winter sowing like Robin has. Unfortunately, my last frost date is May 22nd. It's so long to wait.

I have bulbs stored in my basement (as most gardeners do) but only because I wasn't able to get them in the ground last fall before it froze. I keep them stored neatly on a shelf about 4 foot off the floor. So late last night as I journeyed down into the basement to retrieve frozen pork chops for Thursday's dinner I decided to give my bulbs a peek. I was shocked to find that many of the bulbs had begun to sprout! Why!?! I grabbed up my little babies and hurried upstairs. Yes, I forgot the pork chops. (I hear you giggling!) I grabbed a new pot that I had gotten on clearance and began rescuing my premies.

As I lovingly planted the newborns again my mind was screaming, "Why!?!" I've successfully stored bulbs before. Why did they sprout so early this time? After considering the question all night: I blame my husband! He has fluorescent shop lights placed all over the basement and I've only just realized how many hours he has spent in the basement lately as he works on one of his winter projects. I do believe that I accidently forced the bulbs by leaving the basement lights on!

What a happy accident!