Returnees in the Garden

It has been a really strange spring this year. Too wet, too cold and generally just not conducive to getting out in the garden. So far, the only things growing in our backyard are plants that come back year after year without much coaxing. Them and the weeds.

Our Perch

 

Time to dust off the chairs and dig up the yard! We have been busy planting the garden early this spring and now it's time to sit and enjoy the warm weather and watch things grow... from our perch.

Weeds and Dandelions

Since my husband is building new storage sheds our backyard has been looking more like a junk yard for the last few months. Needless to say we hadn't planted anything in our garden this year. We're hoping than when he finishes with the construction and finally has our backyard in order again, that we will still have enough growing time to at least plant a few things.

"I find a person whose life is full of genuine dandelions and ditch weeds to be far more compelling than the person whose life is full of plastic roses, and I’m far from alone in that conclusion.

In other words, you’re better off being proud of being a ditchweed than trying to be a rose and merely being a plastic imitation of one. Stop caring what other people think. Be passionate and proud of who you are and what you enjoy and stop spending a dime of your money or an ounce of your energy trying to be something you’re not." ~ Plastic Flowers from The Simple Dollar

Fall is Here!

Yes, it's cooler and the leaves are changing colors. Fall is definitely here.

Come take a peek...

Come and take a peek at my backyard. I can't wait for it to start looking green again :)

Springing to Life

Finally the weather is a little warmer and the sun is actually out today. Maybe the ground will be dry enough that we can start digging up the garden this weekend. Husband said he'll cut the grass today. We'll see. They are about a foot high now after all the rain we had last week.

I still haven't gotten back into the groove of taking pictures, not much inspiration when the backyard is all dead, but maybe now I'll feel more inspired. There are already new sprouts springing up. I think they are greens and lettuce plants from seeds that fell off last year's crop. I'll go to the farmer's market on Saturday morning and try to get some seedlings to kick start the garden.

Ol' Jack

Jack hung out in our backyard all winter long and he is now looking forward to a nice long retirement in the compost bin :)

The weather is getting warmer and we've started cleaning out the garden again, so hopefully it will start looking alive again. It's seems that it's been looking so dead for so long. I guess we had gotten spoiled and got used to seeing it green and bountiful. The good thing is, several plants decided to hang out through winter like the swiss chard and leeks. Visit our kitchen for some chard and leeks recipes.

Metal Buildings

Metal buildings are common where in our neghborhood. We have one and our neighbors all have one. We use these sheds to store tools and other implements that you don't want in the house; and they come in varying styles and sizes. I saw an unusual use for these metal buildings on one of my neighbor's yard. He had taken a small shed and turned it for his daughter's playhouse! They had jazzed it up with window boxes, installed a little porch and planted some pretty plants all around it, and it is just adorable! Lucky kid. My girls were jealous.

These steel buildings are popular here because they are affordable, sturdy and easy to build. A homeowner can easily install one of these houses by themselves just by following the easy directions on the website. My husband is getting ready to install one in one of our rental properties. There was a wooden one there, but it has rotted and the roof was leaking so rather than repairing it, he has decided to install one of these steel buildings. It will keep the elements out and hopefully he won't have to go back to do any repairs on it for a while.

Of course, these metal buildings are not just used for backyard sheds like ours, they also have commercial and agricultural applications. I'm sure you've seen metal buildings used for offices or storage places or even airplane hangars. These steel buildings are now also being used in rural settings. There are more metal horse barns and workshops popping up in farms, for instance. Again, it goes back to the ease of installation and cost.

So Sorry...

I feel so bad that I haven't posted on this or my new backyard for a while. I guess it's not excuse that it has been the winter and nothing exciting has really been happening in our backyard either. I've just been to darn tootin' lazy to take any photos. I'll try to remedy that though.

I keep wondering if maybe it's time to buy a new digital camera just to rev up my interest again :) Hey, I'll take any excuse to get a new one!

Now a winter garden

Today was the first frosty temperature in N.C. That meant the end of our garden. The sweet potato leaves that we like making into a salad is all burnt up and withered. My husband dug up the sweet potato roots and we'll soon be making sweet potato pies out of them and put them in the freezer for Thanksgiving.

I hate that I didn't get a chance to get the leaves off of my bitter melon plant before the frost hit. This tropical baby does not like the cold and has since died of frost bite. At least I still have the bitter melon fruits in the refrigerator. I'll be posting some bitter melon recipes in Our Kitchen soon.

Guest Bearing Gifts

He visited our backyard a few weeks back. He is the most adorable and friendliest pup I’ve seen in a while. He wanted to stay and rub up against our legs. He wanted to have his tummy rubbed. I would have gladly complied if he wasn’t crawling with fleas!

The poor thing, no wonder he was rolling around and rubbing on us, on rocks on leg tables. He was miserable!
Read more about him>>>