What's in your Garden?

Spring has finally sprung here in North Carolina.  We are ever so thankful!  This past winter was a cold one with lots of snow (for us!).  We just prepared some of our garden containers for planting.  Mixed in compost and some new soil.  Planted seeds we collected last year, too. German pink heirloom tomatoes, eggplants and pumpkins.  Our sugar pie pumpkins were such a success last year, that we planted more this year.  I made soups, muffins and pies from their deliciously sweet flesh.

Our yard is awash with colorful blooms.  Daffodils, some tulips, the Bradford pear tree, the nectarine tree and we hope to see the cherry blossoms soon.   Ours seem to be the last cherry tree to blossom.  I think being "covered" by the hedge of Leyland Cypress trees makes it bloom a bit later.  My grape hyacinths are so cute!

We get so excited about our garden!  The blackberries are really taking off.  This is their third growing season and we hope it will be a good one.  Mint covers a large area and keeps spreading, but the smell is so delightful! Especially in the hot summer when a breeze blows the scent our way.   My lavender is also growing quickly.  I planted it two years ago and it is finally taking off!  Strawberry leaves are just starting to pop up, too.  Can't wait to see it all grow. Spring is finally here. 

The boys want to plant more of the colorful carrot seeds we grew last year.  The colors were quite different and very interesting.  We'll have to fix another container for those, though.  I am sure in teh upcoming weeks we will be planting more seeds.  We never know what will be in our garden.  We just plnt what excites us at the moment.

I can;t forget my roses!  I have already pruned them (a few months ago) and last week I sprinkled Epsm salt at their bases.  Next step is to start using the special beer fertilizer I mix up.  It is the only reasonI purchase beer!  Beer for my roses.  I could make that into a country song. 

I keep talling myself that I am going to be better about blogging our homeschool activities.  Time just slips away.  I did post some cute pictures of a few cards I made for the kids at the hospital. Check them out at: Pattie's Cards  I really love the ministry of sending cards to kids that are in the hospital and even have some help from fellow homeschoolers.