Spring

Luke's birthday is on the first day of spring, and ever since he was born, I've had such a love of all things spring. I remember coming home from the hospital with newborn Luke, and seeing that all of the tulips in my garden had bloomed while he and I were in the hospital.

The past few years I lost my enthusiasm for planting bulbs in the fall, but without fail, every March those gorgeous tulips grow and bloom and make me happy.

Last week I decided that since the tulips were almost on their way out, I needed to add more color to our front yard. So far I've been to http://www.pikenursery.com twice, a small local nursery once, and Home Depot twice in search of the perfect plants, flowers, seeds, and vegetables.

Yesterday the family and I headed out after breakfast and started weeding, laying mulch, planting flowers, and at times, riding bikes. There is so much still to do, but my petunias and marigolds have been planted by our mailbox, as well as a few special surprises (ok, I'll tell you...I planted dill, cilantro, and lavender seeds there too; I was thinking it would be nice to smell them each time I pull into the driveway) that I hope do well in that partially shady spot. I also planted cucumbers and red and yellow peppers in one of our garden boxes, and put basil and dill in pots. My mint (three types, what was I thinking?), oregano, and parsley survived the harsh winter, so those are ready to be used.

Today Ava and I made another pit stop and I picked up salvia and beautiful purple blue hydrangeas. Still on my list are organic tomatoes, either plants or seeds, and more cucumbers.

Next weekend we have our last big job, moving our bigger/deeper garden box to a sunnier spot. Because the bottom is made of weed cloth, we have to remove the dirt before moving it, which involves lots of shoveling and wheelbarrowing. The goal is to plant carrots, sweet potatoes, beets, onions, and white potatoes in that box.

I can't wait for all the new additions to our garden to start blooming, and to harvest vegetables this summer!