Picked to Early

Bo and I grew watermelons in our garden. Well I should say we had 1 watermelon in our garden the others opened up because of the heat. These were suppose to be small watermelons so we didn't actually know when we were suppose to pick it. Needless to say we picked it a little to soon. But at least it looked good.

Here you can see better see the size of the watermelon. We have learned a lot from the square foot garden and grown more than we ever have in the past. We will just have to improve on it next year.

Again doesn't the watermelon look pretty?

Garden Update

We have eaten several tomatoes and cucumbers from the garden and they tasted delicious!!

But we were very excited to see that we have some tiny watermelons on the vine.

We also have some squash coming in nicely. We have a problem because we can't remember what kind of squash we planted. Do you have any idea what kind it is?

Smile

I just thought everyone could use a little smile today. I just loved this garden art when I saw it at the Dollar General. I was so glad it was only a $1.00 because I had to have it.

Gardening Update

Just wanted to show you a quick picture of our garden. Our plants are really growing.

As you can see the squash seeds are coming up. I think we will have to thin them out a little bit. I can't wait until we get some produce. Also next year we have decided not to buy any plants but to start all of our garden from seeds. Has anyone out there tried this?

Square Foot Garden

Bo mixed the soil. This flower pot was used a huge measuring cup.

Here he is spreading the mixed soil in our new 4x4 garden boxes. Our neighbor was teasing us about living next to the farmers. By no means are we farming, just trying to grow a few vegetables.

This is just a little bit of what we have planted. I hope it all grows.

I wanted to follow all the instructions in the book All New Square Foot Gardening. Bo didn't read it so he did most of what I suggested. I can't wait to show you what we grow.

New Gazebo - Maybe

The evening started out pretty good. Bo and I were jocking around with the corner pieces of our gazebo. It all seemed like it was going good.
Two and a half hours into it as we were lifting the top on to our gazebo this piece broke. I felt so bad because that was the piece our neighbor was helping us with. He felt so bad.

We headed back to the Home Depot to see if they could give us a replacement part. But they don't have any in this region. They have already sold the store display when they told us last week that they wouldn't sell us the display until the end of the season. We came home and contacted the manufacture. Now the sides of the gazebo are still standing up in the yard. If we don't hear from the manufacture we will have to take it down and take it back to Home Depot. I just hope it comes apart easier than it went together.

i haven't left

Sorry, I haven't posted much. Bo and I have been really working on our backyard. I should have pictures of it tomorrow.
I don't know if I told you or not but I have a new niece which has inspired me to think about sewing again. I hope to finish the back yard so I can make her something soon.

Building Our Square Foot Garden

Happy Earth Day!

I have been give the same task my entire life. Hold the item steady while someone else puts it together. I'm also an excellent flashlight holder! Here I am holding the box steady while Bo put the bottom on the sides.

This is Bo putting drainage holes in the bottom of the box. I hope that we have enough holes. I know that we are starting late, but I still have a lot of hope for this garden. I'm actually really really excited about it.

We got our boxes built, but then it got to dark to do any more.

Keep The Inside Cool

When I first meet Bo he already had the house we live in now. And from the first time I stepped foot in it I had ideas on how I wanted to change it. He actually let me paint the dinning room and kitchen before we were even engaged. This was the start of a lot of improvements we have done since then.

I need say that I have gotten many of my ideas from my dad. Because he has always looked for ways to lower the cooling cost at my parents house. My first idea was to put darker screens on our windows. This is something my parents did at there house. Well the screens on the windows at our house do not cover the entire window so it would not block the sun coming.

So I had to come up with a plan to help block the sun from heating our bricks. My idea was azaleas. They are some of my favorite flowers especially when they grow large. This year is the third we have had them. They are beautiful and functional.

I can't wait until they fill in and grow taller. This wall gets a ton of the hot afternoon sun, and I would love for them to help block some of this from heating this wall.

As I drove out of my neighborhood today I noticed that very few houses had anything planted on the side of their house that gets tons of sun. Just think of the amount of energy used to cool all of those houses.

Earth Week

This week is earth week. I have always been a little green. I'm going to try and show you ways that we are going green around our house, but we know that there is always ways to improve.

First Up:

This weekend Bo and I planted two trees in the front yard. We decided to plant pear trees. We hope in a few years to have some fruit. I have been calling my them my mom and dad's names. I think this is funny, but my mom does not..

I bet you are wondering about the umbrella in the front yard. Well, our dirt is horrible and it took us a long time to dig two holes and the sun was hot. Our solution was to bring our patio umbrella round front to block the sun while we dug.

Herbs and Fruit

This is the Rosemary plant that we planted last year. We left it outside all winter and it is still a live and growing. We were both surprised that it is still alive.
Okay I going to show you this Shepard's hook to say it doesn't work. It will not hold the weight it says it is able to. It was kind of funny last night when we got home the hanging basket was sitting on the ground and the hook was bent over.

These are our strawberries. I have high hopes for them because I ordered the kit from Cottage Farms on QVC.

Free Flowers

My friend and coworker dug up these flowers from her yard this weekend. I asked her what she was going to do with them. She responded with put them in the trash. Bo and I went to night and rescued some of them. We plan to make a flower bed with them. I think they are going to be purple iris, but we will have to wait and see what they are for sure.

Elephant Ears

Bo and I didn't eat any Elephant Ears at the fair this year. I would rather have a funnel cake any day over an Elephant Ear. Moving on from fair food, I decided to share with you some Elephant Ears that Bo grew this year. I had the idea that we needed to have elephant ears on one side of our house so that it would help the brick stay cooler when the sun is beating on it. It seems to have helped some.

Bo pointing out just how tall his elephant ears got this year. I have to say these have to be one of the easiest plants to grow.
Bo planted six bulbs and they all grew very well, but this one had to be the biggest one. I think these are absolutely beautiful plants. They seem so tropical to me.

I have been warned by several people that they will eventually take over my yard and I will get tired of them and want to get rid of them. Until that time happens I will love looking at them. Thank you Bo for planting them and taking care of them. Can't wait to see what they look next year.

Surprise

Last Peppers of the Season

I have no clue what to do with them. Any ideas?

Garden Update

Bo is showing off our new hula beach umbrella that we got tonight at Rite Aid. We got the umbrella and a bottle of nail polish for $1.80 with tax. I love coupons.

All of this came out of our garden tonight and there is plenty more where they came from.

These elephant ears were planted just this year. I am amazed how much they have grown. Bo and I have been warned that they will take over your yard. We really want them to grow thick and tall in hope to keep our bricks cooler in the summer heat. We'll see how that works.

UFO, Pin Cushion, and Pumpkins

I have been inspired by several blogs lately that have been working on UFOs. This UFO has been partial finished for at least 4 years now. It is a broken dish pattern out of a Fons and Porter magazine. Of course I can't find the magazine any more. I know that the pattern calls for a border, but I'm not sure what size so I guess I will wing it. I am also open to ideas. I hope to have this finished for my December for my mother's b-day. She hardly ever reads my blog, but my dad does. (So please don't tell her.)

I know what your thinking, "What is Bo doing with a pumpkin in August?" My Father-in-law was kind enough to grow some pumpkins for me this year. He had never planted any before and he planted them early. The pumpkins will never last until Halloween. So Bo and I are baking them. Luck for me I love anything with pumpkin.

Pumpkins in the oven. If you know any good pumpkin recipes please let me know.

I wanted to make something tonight, but I couldn't decide what to make. I ended up making the Heather Bailey Square Deal Pin Cushion. It went together fairly easy. I plan to give this one to a sewing friend, and may end up making more.

Vegtables

Between being sick, laying flooring, and getting ready for a yard sale, I haven't had much time to sew. But I did have time to check on our garden. I decided to post a few pictures of it. Saturday afternoon we are going shopping for a new couch since we are selling ours. After that I hope to work on several sewing projects, but I'll probably just fall asleep.

Tomato Plant

Another Tomato Plant
Pepper Plants
Cucumber, Watermelon, Cantaloupe and Butternut Squash