The Garden Isn't Done Yet

It may be fall, it may be almost October, but my garden isn't done yet. We finally got some significant rain last week, which perked up my wilted plants, and the weather has been beautiful. We're currently experiencing weather bliss in my opinion, highs in the high 70s and low 80s and chilly at night. Even weeding is a treat in this weather!

My rose (still not sure what kind of it is) i still blooming, although not as profusely as it was in June and the blooms are all clustered in these giant clumps.


The veronica speedwell is still going too and looks great next to the sweet alyssum that I grew from seed. The alyssum is looking great right now.


The tomatoes are still going strong too.

And the most exciting news, to me anyway, is that it looks like one of my coneflower plants might actually bloom this year. Last year I planted seeds that did nothing, so this year I bought some tiny coneflowers plants which haven't looked like they were doing a whole lot but in the last couple of weeks there has been some major developments. I just hope they bloom before this gorgeous weather disappears for another year and we get a hard frost.





Gardeners, Plant and Nature lovers can join in every Sunday, visit As the Garden Grows for more information.

Happy Hour Just Got a Little Less Happy...

Did you hear the news? Apparently it's not bad enough that regularly drinking copious amounts of alcohol can cause Cirrhosis and alcoholism. Oh nooo. Today they had to announce that regularly drinking more than three drinks per day increases a woman's chance of getting breast cancer by 30%. THIRTY percent! I just want to know if this is based on an average or what. Cause I'm pretty sure I can keep it below 21 drinks per week easy. But less than three weeks every single day...weeeeel. Luckily one or two drinks per day only increases your risk by 10%. I'll drink to that!

But seriously, this cancer thing is getting out of control. I need a vice to deal with the stress of living with a poisonous gas in my home. Yes, I’m talking about radon. Yet another worry I I'd be blissfully unaware of if I had JUST STAYED A RENTER. In my basement the decision of opening the windows or not is a toss up. I can keep them closed and run the dehumidifier to ward off the mold, or I can open them up so as to dilute and hopefully reduce the amount of radon I inhale everyday. Cause radon is going to give me lung cancer you know.

So combine all this with my family history and odds are looking pretty good that it's the big C for me.

Well, gotta go, all this cancer bidness is making me thirsty...

I Love Lavender

I'd like to introduce my lavender, Lavandula angustifolia. I decided I needed my own supply of lavender after visiting some lavender farms in Sequim, Washington last year and buying some of the dried herb. It makes such a great addition to my lingerie drawer!

So I picked up three little lavender plants at a nearby nursery in May for just 33 cents each. Here's what the little guys looked like then.


And here's what it looks like today, a little more grown up and with blooms! I can smell the sachets already. They'll be little sachets, but still.





Gardeners, Plant and Nature lovers can join in every Sunday, visit As the Garden Grows for more information.

Latest Internet Addiction: HEL LOOKS

I have a soft spot for anything Scandinavian, especially anything Finnish. Perhaps that's why I can spend way too much time browsing Finnish street fashion on HEL LOOKS. And while I'm definitely a conservative (to put it nicely, boring is probably more realistic) dresser, I have to think that some of these people HAVE to be kidding. I mean, cmon. The bonus of browsing HEL LOOKS is seeing glimpses of Helsinki, which truly is a wonderful city.

Midsummer Garden Check-Up

Since it's raining (yay!), today is the perfect Green Thumb Sunday for me to do a garden check-up. This is only my second gardening season, so I'm still learning. Here's what worked, and what didn't this year.


First, my flower bed. This is the only dedicated flower bed I have in my backyard and everything except the rose was planted this season or last. It's still a work in progress, but it looks a lot better than the weed-filled bed it was when I moved in. There are still some things I need to move (the Coneflowers), replant (Rudbeckia)

The good:

• Cosmos - These were purchased very cheaply from a local nursery. They are by far my new favorite annuals.
  
• Using compost instead of synthetic fertilizers
  
• Deadheading
  
• Buying hanging baskets at Marc's, a local discount grocery chain. They were way cheaper than anyone else, they look great (although not as lush as they did in June) and they're still going.

The bad:

• Coneflower - Last year I tried seeds to no avail, this year I planted seedlings that seem to be doing well, but haven't flowered. Maybe next year I'll finally see a Coneflower?
  
• Black-Eyed Susans - I love these never-ending bloomers, and I was so pleased when they bloomed from seed last year. Except this year, mine dried out and died. Maybe it was the extreme heat and dry weather we've been having. I definitely want to replant these, but maybe I'll try a different variety.

To improve/try next year:

• Use the trench method to plant tomatoes
• Use a better staking method for the tomatoes
• Plant the tomatoes in a new location, perhaps incorporate them into other beds
• Work on the front flower bed, try winter sowing to get more plants cheaply
• Find more room for more spring bulbs
• Plant small flowering plants in groups, they get lost on their own.
• Do something with the weed jungle on the side of the house and the other side of the garage

Gardeners, Plant and Nature lovers can join in every Sunday, visit As the Garden Grows for more information.

Ahhh....that's better.

The first time I saw the bathroom in my house, I immediately noticed and detested three things:

1. The ugly, horrible, atrocious fake cardboard tile (Who would ever do such a thing and why? Whyyyy?)
   
2. The hideous wood hollywood light fixture, complete with missing bulb
   
3. The floor. Which my realtor said was "in great shape. How lucky!" "It's hideous," I said, in my usual understated way. "I hate it and there are paint splotches all over it."

But don't take my word for it.


I replaced the fixture quite quickly with a score from the local Build It Again center (a Habitat charity, good stuff). That most-dreaded fake tile though? It lived and lived despite my daily glaring and curses. Ideally, I'd take it down and paint the wall, but I assume it was there to hide a plaster issue. Why else would someone possibly do that? Finally I had a plan, I'd eventually replace it with more beadboard, but I haven't yet managed to sucker anyone into to doing that for me yet. So I waited, and hated. Then yesterday I started thinking about painting it. And this morning, I did.

Sure, it's not the ideal solution, but it looks clean and sooo much better. I'm happy now.

A few pretty things for the kitchen

After work I stopped by a warehouse sale Kroger is having locally. I managed to find a few pretty things for the kitchen.


Can you believe I used to think pretty tea towels were a waste? They're not that absorbent, compared to big fluffy towels, and I was convinced the pretty ones would just get stained during normal kitchen duties. But I've realized the error of my ways. They look so pretty under a stack of drying dishes or, better yet, hanging by the sink or from the oven. Now I can't have enough.

Only spent $4 too. Not bad.