Wicked Winter

Like most of the country, we've had a wicked winter down here in region 7.  Even tonight we are expecting 3 to 5 inches!  Welcome Spring!

One nice thing about delayed openings and days off from school is that the pace slows down a little bit and we've been feeling a lot less rushed.

Still, we are waiting eagerly for Spring.  The garden beds are ready and Green Husband has stacked the wood from the old silver maple that finally came to the end of its life.

Chopping wood warms you twice.

Strawberries will be our first crop.

The Smurfs survived, the Gnome did not.

Lots of birds in and out of these boxes.  What's going on in there?

Waiting.

Boing!! Spring!

Well, not really...and for those of you to the Mid-West to the Mid-Atlantic, I know that the notion of Spring is but a teasing whisper in your ear.

But do you know that feeling...?  When you are *done* with Winter and all the fun it entails.  We've loved the snowmen, the snow days, the cozy days drinking hot chocolate, but then, then, you get a whiff of Spring.  Maybe the temperature is above forty degrees, even if just for a few hours.  Or you hear a bird chirping outside your window.  Or...The Seed Catalog Arrives.

That's where we are right now.  The air felt warm, the bird sounded happy instead of pining, and the catalog just arrived.

So, of course, in the spirit of Spring, this blog needed refreshing AND I suddenly felt my husband needed this for Valentine's Day (from Gardener's Supply Company):

(The woman is not included)

This year, I so resolve to break out my copy of Roots, Shoots, Buckets & Boots



Most intriguing to me is A Garden of Giants! I would love for my children to be able to get lost in a maze of towering plants; to forget about the outside world for a while and to create their own surrounded by flowers.

And finally, a special thank you to Nini Makes who selected me personally (oh, I know it was luck of the draw, but how lucky I am!) to receive such a delightful pin cushion! Thank you, Joanie!

Are you dreaming of Spring?

Rainy Day

Waiting for Sprouts - Recycled Egg Carton

Rain today with nothing on the clothesline, so it is a good thing we accomplished yesterday what needed to be done outdoors. This included walks around the neighborhood, a bit of weeding in the garden, a stroll on over to the park (where Pip and Sprout climbed the jungle gym like little monkeys - my, they're getting old), mowing, edging, and seed planting.

Peony Compost

Incidentally, you may want to know (or not) how we control dandelions on our property. The answer is: Green Husband. No, he's not a product, he's my spouse, and he prowls around with a sharp tool and digs those flowers up by the roots. And that, my friends, is how we have a dandelion-free and chemical-free yard.

Aunt Miriam's Turtle

What is emerging in your flower garden?

Garden Courtesy of Green Husband

GOG Review - The All-New Illustrated Guide to Gardening

***Don't forget to join Gift of Green's Clothesline Challenge 2009!***

As a Wanna-Greenie blogger I get a lot of emails extolling the latest and greatest in supplements and such, but every once and a while I get an offer to review a book! It is just torture for me to accept these offers, I dread when the mailman leaves that heavy envelope on my doorstep, and it just breaks my heart that once I'm done reading a donation I either have to keep it or give it away on my blog. Torture, I tell ya!

So, you can imagine my chagrin when the Reader's Digest Illustrated Guide to Gardening landed with a heavy thud on my front stoop. It certainly was larger than I had expected, but no matter, and it sports a medallion on the cover that reads, "Now All Organic!".

The end pages have a lovely color map of the plant hardiness zones, which you know is near and dear to my heart. Chapters cover everything from ferns to hedges to heathers and heaths. The chapter that I decided to peruse first was on vegetables, and I kept an eye out for any organic tips of the trade. I found the section on homemade organic controls to be interesting - who know you could make a garlic oil spray to combat squash bugs and and cabbageworms?! And although I knew the ladybug was useful in fighting garden pests, the small section on other "little helpers" revealed the helpfulness of, among other bugs, the hover fly.

I will say that the typeface is extremely small, which I suppose is a necessity for a book that covers so much, but for those who have some sight limitations, this might dissuade them from turning to this guide as a regular resource. This book will certainly be a comprehensive addition to a gardener's reference collection; I'm sure it will get a workout this summer as the Wanna-Greenies refer to it again and again.

Garden 2009 Begins

Our garden is newly roto-tilled, the clothesline is up, the adorable peg bag courtesy of Nini Makes from last year's Clothesline Challenge looks like Easter candy hanging from the line, the seeds are in (radish, carrots, lima beans, peas and lettuce), and our two beds of strawberries promise red, juicy berries in the not so distant future.

And someone needs more appropriate footwear for the garden.

The First Garden

No, I'm not talking about the Garden of Eden, I'm talking about the First Lady breaking ground for the First Garden! Yippppeeeeeee!!

I am also in the middle of Esperanza Rising and it is a beautiful book indeed. I just completed Bride to Terabithia, a book that is so deceiving in its simplicity - it is one of those books that makes you think, "Hey, I could have written that.", but really you couldn't have. Does anyone know what I mean?

Garden Themes and Summer Dreams

Well, dear friends, thank you so much for all of your fabulous suggestions on what to plant in my little garden patch. Since I so nicely "volunteered" my fellow "volunteers", I decided I had better come up with a theme and quick. So here it is: A Garden of Gourds (Catchy. Not so much).

I got my inspiration from several places, linking both literacy and art. Know any other children's books that feature gourds as a story element? And by the way...now that I've chosen my garden theme...um...HELP!!! Anyone adept at growing gourds?

While we are on the subject of seeds, I wanted to share a project that I almost overlooked. SusieJ has a smart little badge that reminds us of the importance of sharing any bumper crops that might come our way (I know anything "bumper" other than snow is hard to imagine at this time of year!). And she is even offering a little contest to win your own very cool packet of Burpee's Money Garden seeds (I mean, aren't the graphics on the seed package adorable!). And while I'm over at Burpee...I mean, how fun is this!?

And by the way...remember my little post about "Garbage Can Gardening"? Voila! :) These are my peppers seeds, rescued straight from the trash can:

The (Garden) Plot Thickens

Wow. Have you ever read over your blog's past entries? Maybe you have kept up with your blog like a good little do-bee, but then again perhaps you have even turned into a little slacker like me.

Like, I used to post pictures of myself as a toddler? Who knew?

Or post 21 entries over the course of ONE month!?

Dream Memes of me?

I have really let my blog go to...well, why am I in this handbasket and where am I going?

The GREAT news is - there was an extra garden plot in my school's courtyard and I snagged that baby for myself and three of my unsuspecting colleagues. Heh, heh. An entire plot! For me! And three of my closest co-workers! Without the aid of Green Husband! To plant! To tend! To weed! What the heck have I done! Hopefully my old standby, KidsGardening, will help get me through. I need a garden theme, dear readers, that should include literacy and art.

Grown Woman Weans Herself Off Facebook!

Yes, this just in... I have finally weaned myself off Facebook which I found was a huge time-sucker - not to mention I had slight misgivings over their privacy policies. I have to admit that I reconnected with some very long lost friends (from elementary school, no less), but personal emails have been exchanged, so voila! Time to get back to my first love, Gift of Green.

Mom Go Green has some good questions in her comment on my last post. I made some suggestions in the comments section - any other suggestions for the newbie gardener? Please feel free to post here.

I am considering...dare I mention it...the Second Annual Gift of Green Clothesline Challenge. Would any of you be interested?

And, remember how I posted about Garbage Gardening? I deep-sixed cucumber and pepper seeds after making some crudites in the kitchen, and son of a gun, two weeks later, I have pepper sprouts popping up! I simply buried them in a small pot of potting soil and have left them on my kitchen window sill to see what would emerge. Give it a try!

And...wearing my school librarian hat, I just have to tell you about an absolutely delightful book I read to my Kindergarteners this week: Isabel and the Hungry Coyote/Isabel y el coyote habriento (Bilingual)
I read it four times in a row and still could not get enough of it.

I read with amusement that someone had their feed to GiftofGreen bookmarked under "dying feeds". As F. Scott Fitzgerald wrote, I have the familiar conviction that life will begin again in the summer. Spring is just around the corner - I can feel it and it's great to be back as Gift of Green!!!

This Year's Garden

Here are the seeds we are planning to sow this year. We don't usually use transplants unless there is some kind of massive crop failure! We don't use cold frames; we are lucky to be in zone 7 so we have enough time to start from seed in starter pots. This list seems ambitious but it will be the first time I am off for the summer so I will have plenty of time to weed. Hahahahhhahaha, oh, hahahahah, I crack myself up. (Green Husband is looking at me like I'm nuts). With the first burst of warm air today, I am looking forward to Spring!

Strawberries (plants have been in the ground for about four years)

Radish
Broccoli
Lettuce (Deer tongue, Amish, black seeded)
Spinach

Sugerboy watermelon
Red peppers
Green peppers

Italian tomatoes
Brandywine tomatoes
Peas (snap, sugar)
Cauliflower
Lima beans
Cantaloupes
String beans
Cherry tomatoes
Cucumbers

Herbs (All are perennials we've had in for about three years.)
Basil
Lavender (in the ground for about three years)
Fennel
Sage
Oregano

Moon Flowers
Four O'clocks

Ramble on Rose has her list up too. What about you?

Getting ready...

to order my personal picks from Seed Savers. What are you ordering this year?

Slowly but Surely

I'm getting back on the Green bandwagon. I took my reusable totes to the grocery store this morning, and I must confess, dear friends, that it has been a long time since I have done so. This time I noticed that I received a .05 credit for each bag and that it seems most customers were bringing their own bags. Ah, what transformation while I slept. :)

Today I tried some Garbage Gardening by planting the seeds that I scooped out of some cucumbers. I just dumped them all wet and slimy into a pot of dirt. We shall see, my friends, we shall see.

SaltandChocolate, one of my favorite blogs, has an adorable Valentine's Day craft. I am truly a sucker for that holiday, truly.

Pip and Sprout are growing like weeds - Pip is very into Legoing and I just bought Sprout her first pair of ballet shoes. Sniff, sniff.

Garbage Can Gardening, etc.

I saw this post on the National Gardening Association's website. Looks like a good project to get us through these chilly days.

Sprout is watching Mary Poppins (my favorite line: "Never confuse efficiency with a liver complaint.") and I can't help but notice that Mrs. Banks gives up her sufferagist activities in the name of household harmony. Do I have that right?

Green Musings

Jinkies, we have a lot of catching up to do!

It just seems that with the coming of spring the opportunities for getting into the green of things are endless!

April 1st is right around the corner and that means I will be turning over a new leaf (for two months, anyway). I will be joining Mamas on the Compact where I pledge to eliminate the purchase of new items. Gulp. Anyone care to join me?

Have you heard the buzzzzzzzzz about "The Great Sunflower Project" out of San Francisco State University? My good friend Lakshmi alerted me to this site where participants can help researchers achieve their goal of increasing our understanding of where bees are doing poorly and how the pollination of our garden and wild plants are being affected.

Say project leaders: "We're hoping you will join us by planting sunflowers in your garden. Community, demonstration, and school gardens are invited to participate. We'll send you some free native sunflower (Helianthus annuus) seed and twice a month, we'd like you to time how long it takes for 5 bees to visit one flower on that sunflower. This information will give us an index of pollination that we can compare across the United States."

Win some gardening goodies from the National Gardening Association when you enter their When You Garden You Grow giveaway.

I have two great bloggy book give-aways coming up! Stay tuned for a chance to win a copy of the Holistic Moms Network's cookbook "Growing Healthy Families" and, just in time for Spring (or a little late), Leslie Evan's beautifully illustrated Spring acrostic book.

And finally, I am super excited to say that as my good friend Sue toils over my blog button, I am gearing up to give you details on "Gift of Green's Clothesline Challenge 2008"!! The challenge will begin May 1st and I hope you'll sign on for the summer! More details coming up soon!

Summer Garden 2008, Redux

Three things today...

First of all...was it just me or was Google down today? Don't *ever* do that to me again, Google. You're scaring me.

Second, I have the Accidental Guest Blogger today: Green Nana. Today's post is "ripped from the headlines", er, I mean, her email. Take it away, Green Nana (who, by the way, lives in plant hardiness zone 5a, I believe)! [Warning - see the kind of coded messages from her I have to decipher on a daily basis?!]

re: blog....i also got the planting season bug....but jumped the gun
up here in cold ma. did buy lettuce seeds, but the "seed starting soil" bags are not yet at home depot or lex. gardens! i did take some
cutting to see what was wrong with my bushes......needs fertilizer was
the answer! trying to find coast of me." organic soil bags i will not buy
"scotts" here is a seedling tip......use the paper egg cartons to start seedlings and then you can just plant the whole thing when the plants get big enough because the
cardboard will just disintegrate into the soil:) hugs, mom

Thanks, Green Nana: the "original" Gift of Green!

And finally, as Green Nana reminded me, it is almost time...get ready...for Clothesline 2008! Woohooo! I am thinking of some type of clothesline challenge this summer for my bloggy friends - which brings me to this: is there anyone out there who will design a Clothesline 2008 bloggy button for me? I have nothing to offer in return except credit and a link back atcha.

Summer Garden 2008!

If you are a gardener, in any shape or form, and listened to the Kojo Nnamdi show yesterday on WAMU, you are already in a panic. MARCH IS CRITICAL!! (Yes, I'm yelling). I'd never heard of Adrian Higgins but just the way he said "de rigour" when describing fig tree prep got me all in a tizzy. Higgins also talked about a new book by Jeff Gillman that separates the wheat from the chaff when it comes to organic gardening. It is on my "to-read" list. Holly Shimizu of the U.S. Botanic Gardens brought some wonderful things for listeners to smell - wish I could found out what they were without purchasing a transcript. They were all lovely plants with names I can't remember as I was too busy making a right hand turn from the far left hand lane.

**update**

Carrie has posted an update on SaltandChocolate.

The Bookworm Emerges

for a moment (this week's reads are My Heartbeat by Garret Freymann-Weyr and Nick & Norah's Infinite Playlist by Rachel Cohn and David Levithan).

This should really be Green Husband's post because he has gone ahead and selected this year's seeds for our garden. Can spring be far behind? This year he ordered exclusively through Seed Savers, purveyor of heirloom seeds.

Here are his picks for Garden 2008. What are yours?

Henderson Bush Lima Bean
Buran Pepper
Calabrese Broccoli
Brandywine Tomato
Large Red Cherry Tomato
Amish Deer Tongue Lettuce
Early Scarlet Globe Radish
Rossa di Trento Lettuce
Early Fortune Cucumber
Quadrato Asti Giallo Pepper
Pride of Wisconsin Melon
America Spinach
Amish Snap Pea
Green Arrow Pea
Early Snowball Cauliflower
Amish Melon

Please Don't Eat the Aloe

When Green Husband and I embarked on this journal called kids-dom, we immediately got rid of all our plants. We pictured tipping, and eating, and dirt-flinging. We got rid of my five foot cactus I'd had since college fearing impalement (unintentional).

But now Pip and Sprout are past that stage and so we say "Bring Back the Houseplants!" and it was done.

Why? Well, as Rebecca Kolls from the National Gardening Association reminds us, plants are nature's air filters. She even suggests ten plants for cleaning the air in your home:

Areca palm

Australian sword fern

Boston fern

Dwarf Date Palm (Not too sure about the rationale behind this one...)

English Ivy (Although, correct me if I'm wrong...isn't this an invasive non-native plant? Perhaps house bound in a pot it won't do much damage but I think I'll pass on this one)

Janet Craig dracaena Okay, at first I thought this was some sick reference to my weight loss resolutions but then I realized that that's JENNY Craig. Neeeevermind.

Peace lily

Reed palm

Rubber plant: "This plant does well in a variety of conditions, and is more likely to outgrow its home than die there." What the...?


Weeping fig Ah. I've always had a fondness for the ficus.

Please note that I have not evaluated these suggestions for kid-friendly/pet-friendly-ness. Consider hanging plants or putting them up high to discourage paws and craws (hey, I like that one).

What's your favorite houseplant? And why. Discuss.

Wednesday Greenings

I hope all of you had a spooktacular Halloween. I picked up poor Sprout from daycare with a fever, so she spent most of the evening relaxing on the couch and on me (is it wrong to kind of enjoy a bit of their mild illness simply because it means they will snuggle up to you for more than a half second; reminds me of their newborn days. Selfish, I know, but sometimes you just want to freeze them).

Then, just in time for Halloween, I received a sweet treat from The Not Quite Crunchy Parent - a blog that I enjoy reading immensely, particularly when it comes to providing posts and strategies for avoiding ye olde television and encouraging more creative play, and for her suggestion for kicking the Ziploc habit. Thank you, TNQCP!

In the paying it forward tradition, I would like to award this bloggy button to Nini Makes, a new blog that I am enjoying and one that is consistently full of sweet treats (and being based in the UK it's probably yummy scones or something with a lot of luscious cream).



Moving right along, you may have seen a comment from barrym (of the West Ireland barryms) asking what I meant by saying I live in planting zone 7. Well, barrym caught me in a bit of an error...it's not planting zone 7; it's plant hardiness zone 7, so I hope that clears things up for you, barrym. Just kidding. Here in the States and Canada (and I imagine in other places?) we use zones to describe temperature extremes in different areas of the country. Interestingly enough, I believe we are now technically as warm as plant hardiness zone 8. Scary, ain't it?

And finally for today, Pickel over at My Two Boys is having a non-toxic toy giveaway bonanza all through the month of November! The scavenger hunt element is over, but the giveaways have just begun! I'm curious...aren't you?

Emerges

Somehow, the timing seems just right.