house plants

gave my house plants some love and TLC today, also trying another string variety

beginning of the end

we have reached the halfway point of summer, where i can tell the rest is going to go by fast. the baby acorns falling on the deck is my sign that the beginning of the end is near.

i've been tracking the date of the first acorn fall for 4 years now, there was a pattern until this year, but still around the same time frame.

july 23, 2023

july 17, 2024

july 11, 2025 

july 16, 2026

planters

testing my green thumb with some new flowers this year

tenants

we have four new tenants living outside our front door.  waiting for them to leave the nest so i can replace my old dead fuchsia hanging basket with a new one.

planters

finished cleaning up and planting in the front yard planters.  excited to try some new flowers this year

bulbs

the bulbs are doing their thing and it makes me so happy!  the first pic is the bulbs the kids planted back in october.  the 2nd two are tulips coming in!  i thought i had dug them all up and put them in one pot in the backyard, but they mulitplied and it i can't wait to see what they do in spring!

2 days apart

this is our japanese maple tree in the front yard, this is the time of year where it is at its peak of beauty!  the transformation happens quickly and the end result is the most vibrant intense red leaves.  these pictures were taken two days apart, so you can see how it is changing.

bulbs

the local hardware store had a kids bulb planting activity this morning

sunflower

watching my sunflower grow all summer has been so fun, but now that it is at it's peak, i have cut it down to enjoy inside.  

sunflower update

it's been fun to watch this sunflower grow throughout summer, it is finally in bloom and glorious! standing over 9 ft tall! 

apples

every year our apple tree produces bigger, redder, juicer and sweeter apples.  bowie picked the perfect one to bring into her new teacher.  

nursery

checked out a new (new to me) nursery with the fam, and it did not disappoint.  excited to revisit in spring!

gladiolas

gladiolas from my garden, these blooms came from bulbs given to me by a dear friend (ms. robin - the kids beloved recess teacher at school) for mothers day.  

harvest

of all the veggies i planted this year, my cucumbers were the most successful!

sunflower update

since i posted 11 days ago, the sunflower is now towering over me, no bloom yet.

sunflower

i have tried several times to grow sunflowers with no success.  but i have 1 lonely sunflower growing this year and it has been such a joy to watch grow!  i am excited to see how tall it gets and for the beautiful flower.  it is almost as tall as i am.  

vanilla marigold

this was one of my mothers day gifts to myself, when i went crazy at the nursery.  i have never seen "vanilla marigolds" before, but i plant this flower every summer.  so here they are in bloom.  they are subtle and pretty!  i don't find them as fragrant as the yellow and orange variety, but they look really nice next to my "hot lips" salvia plant. 

winner winner

kids school carnival was tonight, sorry no pics cause i was working the concessions the whole time.  BUT...this is my 3rd year in a row winning a raffle basket!!!  i won the gardening basket, very excited!

garden box

finally planted my garden box and am excited to watch it grow.  we planted peppers, shallots, lettuce, cucumbers and herbs. 

house plants

i like to get a couple new house plants for myself every mothers day.  last year jarad picked me out an aloe plant.  i enjoy watching how they grow and evolve year after year.  this year i picked out a snake plate and a new string of pearls and a string of bananas.  i am also investing in pottery with drainage and slowly replanting any that don't have it.  love the new look of my kitchen window!