planty, gardeny

Last night, I met my goal at the Bazaar. I won a plant, in true bazaar-fashion: with the very last effort, with the very last tokens, when I've told myself that it's just not going to happen this year. Apparently that's just how it works for me. Of course, I got much support from Akhtar and Luke. I came home with two beautiful plants; I picked the one with the orange flowers. No idea what kind it is. It's got those succulent-type leaves, which gives me hope because those are harder to kill. Look at how pretty the flowers are.

It also came with the pretty yellow plant and this great basket. Sweeet.

So, in true Earth Day fashion, I'm going to plant them in my garden and hope they live. Speaking of the garden, I took a new approach this year. I didn't clean out the bed completely and start from scratch. Anything green, including clover, stayed. Beggars can't be choosers. I just cleaned out the leaves and tried to loosen the soil so I could mix it with new stuff. Then I planted a few plants that were hanging out in pots; One is doing well. The tulips bit the dust almost immediately.

There is one corner, near the fence, that seems to dry up quickly in the summer heat. I think it may get the most sun at the hottest part of the day. Everything seems to wither up and die in that corner. To solve that problem, I opted to put pots full of soil directly on top of the ground. That way, if things start to look sad, I can move them to a better place. Also, the pots of soil will hold on to water better than if they were just planted in the ground.

That's where most of my herbs went. Since I had luck last year and really loved it, I planted basil all over the place. We'll see where it grows best. I also have some dill sprouting up. The mint from last year's farmer's market is perking back up. I hear that stuff's invasive. Cool, I need something like that. Invade the corner where nothing grows, mint!

The tomato plants are growing nicely. I've never grown them, and don't have high hopes for success. But we'll see.

Also planted some zucchini. It's the vegetable that you always hear about people having too much of, so I figured it must be easy to grow. In years past I haven't had much luck, but again, we'll see.

I planted a bunch of wildflowers in random places, but maybe the seeds were old because I haven't seen any sign of them. The flowers underneath the air conditioner get the most water, from what drips down then the AC is on (more and more frequently), so they are doing great. This plant has been hanging out for several years now.

There are also a few random plants that just appeared. I have no idea what they are, but I let them stay because they are green and growing. Like this random bushy type plant that is thriving.

Like my little happy squirrel? I snagged him at the farmer's market last year, and several people came up to me and asked me where I got it. Too bad I got the last one, muahahaha. Missy's mom's aloe vera plants are going strong. Good thing those are hard to kill because I love breaking off a piece and using it on my skin.

P.S. This is last year's bazaar win. It looks a little scraggly, but is doing pretty well.

P.P.S. Pumpkin likes nice days. She will sit there on my snowman doormat and just chill. Also, I need to get baseboards. Say hi to the Great Stuff in the crack under the door. Eh, screw baseboards. I'm only in my parents' garage for a little while longer anyway.