Did you see?

Tags

brighthaven, gardens, spring

What we have blooming in our yard? Run on over to Little Green Bees and feast your eyes on the lovely colors!

Hello from the void

Tags

blogging, spring

Seems like every time I sit down here at the desk lately, the last thing I want to do is blog–or read a blog! I know it’s just a season and I can’t wait until I’m back in the swing of things. Of course, I also know that this beautiful pseudo-spring weather has me wanting to be outside pruning and hoeing and planting. I have to be careful not to let myself be tricked by this delicious weather we are having.

So, what have I been doing?
*first year to file taxes for my little online business. that’s not fun at all…
*starting seeds in the greenhouse
*sending out packages of goodnesses for friends
*sorting through and getting rid of things!
*reading!
*dreaming
*making lists and then losing them…

What have YOU been doing these last couple of weeks? Hope all is well.

Wordless Wednesday: Because I can’t wait one more day for Spring…

Tags

brighthaven, gardening, greenhouse, photos, seeds, spring, wordless wednesday, Wordless Wednesdays

Waiting for Spring

Working at Perdue’s Pots and Plants

Tags

perdue's pots and plants, plant nursery, spring

I received a call this Monday from a local nursery owner, asking if I’d be interested in working this Mother’s Day week. It took me all of about 30 seconds to decide in the affirmative. Although the nursery is across town, sitting at the computer gets pretty old at times. I have also been in the mood for more plants (lavender to be specific) so I was excited for the chance to make money to buy more green stuff for the garden!

Mrs. Perdue has been in business here in Pensacola for almost 25 years. She has a great following of older clients who are really just interested in something pretty for their patios or a simple plant for the living room. She even has a plant of the month club where subscribers receive a new plant in a nice pot each month. The old plant is taken away and if a plant sickens or languishes at any time during the month it will be replaced. What a great deal for under $13 each month!

When I worked at Cracker Barrel, I would stop at Mrs. Perdue’s several times a week–checking on the herb selection and perusing the lovely perennials and annuals she had to offer. My love for calendulas waxed strong at her little plant nursery. And, who could resist 4-inch herbs for one dollar each??!! She pretty much supplied the plants for the dreary first few months at the Hobbit House. Actually, I think she supplied the plants many times over. My learning curve was pretty high for learning to garden in the sandy Pensacola soil!

So, this week, I’ll be spending my days in the glorious Pensacola spring outdoors. If you’re in the area, be sure to stop by Perdue’s Pots and Plants on Pine Forest Highway. I’ll be there, covered in plants and dirt (more than likely). Say hi and take a good long look at some of the lovely Pots and Plants that Mrs. Perdue has to offer!

Good morning, weed-puller!

Tags

blogging, spring

Yeesh, feels like I haven’t been around here in for-e-ver! It’s certainly nice to know that some of you have been in and out, checking on the blog. I certainly hope you all continue coming around and I will do my best to be a more faithful blogger. I have been thinking about the metamorphosis of this blog and it made me a little sentimental for all the blogs I once read with great regularity but have now cut back on just because of time. I suppose Spring is always a busy time for those of us who garden on any scale. It’s hard to think of anything other than seeds, weeds and soil.

Honestly, I think it has to do with this most amazing spring weather we have been having here on the Gulf Coast. The birds are back in full force, we heard a toad in the garden just a half hour ago, the rain has come in due time and the sun is shining beautifully. Speaking of rain, it started sometime on Saturday and was sporadic on Sunday. Sometime in the middle of the night on Sunday, I awoke to hear what we used to call a gully-washer. Beautiful. I love rain. Granted, by the end of the day yesterday, I was ready for it to stop. A full day of rain filled up all our water containers, made the kennels gross and squishy AND filled the fish pond to the brim! Even more threatening, a day and a half of rain followed by steady sunshine encouraged the weeds to stage a hostile takeover. So, I spent the morning pulling those pesky things out of the beds. Through the winter time, weeds aren’t a big deal here at BrightHaven. Let Spring peep its head around however, and we have a problem of immense proportions! Ah well, not too bad, seeing as it gave me a great excuse/opportunity to pull the weeds while the soil was nice and soft!

I have actually been posting on different sites. I decided to move all post pertaining to The Home Gnome over to its own little spot. And–most gardening posts can be found over at Little Green Bees. Most of my writing has been done over there and in my gardening journal here lately. Today, I still have a compost moving project to complete and some bean planting to get down so I don’t suppose I can spend much more time here. Just wanted to let you all know I’ve really been thinking of you and hope all is well in your parts of the world!

ps. I’m posting more spring time pictures over at Little Green Bees. Caught some lady bugs in the very act!

Pre-Occupation.

Tags

gardening, spring

Wow. I was just looking back over the posts from the last few days. About 80% of them prominently feature children…adorable children, I must add. I can’t get enough of my little nieces. ElfGirl has gone to stay with her Nana today because James and I were scheduled to go to a conference in Mobile (Get Motivated) but this awful cold has left me wanting to do nothing more than soak in a tub of hot water all day. So, I am home with no little girl (I do have the vehicle–which is a novelty!) thinking of the things I should be doing. I must admit, thinking comes kind of hard when I am doing the thinking over the incessant buzzing in my poor plugged ear.

We have been engaged in gardening activities. We all went to dig antique bricks on Saturday and I am impatiently awaiting soil that is warm enough to receive my cotton, broomcorn and basil seeds. Soon. Soon. Last night’s low was about 37 degrees, which came as a slight surprise after the 80 degree weather of the weekend. So, for now, I will be content with pruning, rearranging and gazing with delight on the gorgeous spring colors of our native azaleas and dogwood trees. Here’s hoping your spring is moving along on schedule…

Still Life

Tags

Easter, elfgirl, gardens, my love, photos, spring

The azaleas are amazing this year. They provide almost a screen of hot-pink privacy…

We hosted our first Easter egg hunt yesterday. I had a blast! Hope everyone else who was here had fun as well. Today, I am suffering with a stopped ear so any and all prayers along with remedy tips are much appreciated.

The kids hunted for eggs by flashlight, so we don’t have any photos. However, we set up the tripod during the beautiful day and took some group shots. Here’s a sampling of what we got. The ElfGirl and James are such photogenic subjects that I could barely control my shutter finger…

Has Spring Really Sprung?

Tags

elfgirl, gardening, painting, plant ordering, spring, the home gnome

Our new Anna apple tree in blossom already!

If you live along the Gulf Coast, you probably think it has. The past couple of weeks have been a flurry of transplanting, seeding and pruning. I just put in a big order today to Simmon’s Plant Farm. They have been in business for over 60 years and have unbelievable prices. I was also able to call and speak to someone who answered all my silly ordering questions. I’m hoping to have the shipment by the end of the week, so I’ll be able to give you all a good update on plant quality and speed of shipping. In the meantime, take a look at some of what we’ve been doing!

Repainting Henry the Gnome…

Going to the chapel. Sundays are usually chock-full because we work in the Kids’ Ministry at Harvest Pensacola.Just being with this precious girl. We are so blessed to be able to have her around…