Lazy Saturday

d that

So now that I bought 3 lbs of cherries I have no idea what to do with them.  Honestly I just couldn't pass up the $1.99 a lb price tag. I rinsed them and quickly realized one important factor.  Note to self: Buy a cherry pitter soon.  I found a small knife and went to work at cutting them and taking the seeds out. What a pain!

Look how beautiful they are!  Only took me 30 minutes which went pretty fast because I was sitting at the dining table watching the Timbers game. Which I must mention that the Timbers were not playing as good as they should of. It was a very good game but just a little too late. Oh well maybe next time. After I was done splitting all the cherries I put the cookie sheet in the freezer for about an hour.  I them took them out and put them into a freezer bag for later use.  I think I might try to make cherry pie sometime soon. I have yet to ever attempt to make cherry pie so it should be interesting.

Look at these pretty mushrooms I have been finding in my mulch all week.  I'm pretty sure they are not edible and am not going to attempt at whether they are edible. My girls keep imagining smurfs living in them and keep picking them to make pretend soup.  I freak out and make them go wash their hands while I throw them out.  Its a vicious cycle that's been going on all week. 

 I finally decided to transplant all the flowers I planted a couple of weeks ago.  Some pretty flowers around my potato cages should look nice in a few weeks.  I also cleaned out my fireplace and sprinkled ashes around all of my plants around the garden.  I watched a documentary a few weeks ago about the fires that hit Australia a couple of years ago.  It documented the affect it had on plants and animals over the course of a few years.  Long story short the plants ended up thriving because of all the ashes from the fire which acted like vitamins in a sort of weird way. Yes I know I'm horrible at explaining things but you get the idea. So in my head I was thinking ashes are sorta like vitamins. I'm sure someone out there knows the truth but for now its what I did.  We will see how it turns out in a week or so.

Just look how everything is filling in! We were able to eat some homegrown lettuce this week which tasted fantastic.  My runner beans are starting to get going and should be climbing very soon.  I can't wait till the Scarlett beans bloom so I can take pictures of the beautiful red flowers.  I transplanted some spinach into the right bed and some more chard in the left bed.  I have never been able to grow bell peppers for some reason but I think this is my year. The small plants look very healthy so I'm keeping my fingers crossed.  Things are growing along nicely and I'm rotating plants when one is harvested so that the nutrients stay in the soil. 

I finally planted some Alyssum in the metal bird bath on the left.  I decided to put my blue metal table along the fence to add some color to the garden.  I put my rosemary and lavender with a small white decorative piece to add a nice color touch.  I also  transplanted some herbs into small pots along the green house.  If all goes well I should be able to pick and use sage, chamomile and spearmint.

I planted some pea's along the fence which should grow up the chicken wire nicely.  Then I planted Scarlett beans at the bottom of my arch which should grow and look amazing on the arch.  In the wooden flower pot I cut down my tulips and daffodil's because they were done for the season and looked ugly.  I hear your suppose to fold the over and secure with a rubber band so it helps them grow back each year. Honestly it's just too ugly for me and they come back just fine each year. I did plant a few flowers which should help the flower pot look pretty. I just hate leaving it empty all year and look ugly.

I am loving the colors in this picture.  I just love succulents and how simple they really are.  They remind me of my grandma. She had them all over her property.

I moved my large poppy plant about a month or so ago and really didn't think it would flower this year because of me moving it. Well look what I found today! Thank you poppy plant! I also transplanted some different poppy plants into a pot in the front yard.  I'm excited to get some more color in the front yard and these poppies should do the trick.

Can anyone tell me what this light green plant is? It's in my neighbors yard and she doesn't remember planting it at all.  Who knows, maybe its a weed. Well a pretty weed at that.

I'm so in love with the colors in the flower. I am not usually a purple/orange person but this flower makes me want to add those colors to my garden 

Look at the shape of this flower! It almost doesn't look real. My neighbor has some interesting plants for sure.

These look like they came straight out of a fairy book or something. So thin and delicate.  LOVE IT!

How the heck do their lavender plants get so big? I LOVE lavender and all its many uses but for the life of me I have never been able to grow it.  I always kill them.....maybe I water too much. I have managed to keep one Spanish Lavender plant alive this year and don't touch it because I'm afraid I will kill it. Any tips on how to grow lavender? I need the help.

I know this is a horrible picture but I wanted to share with you what my twins do in the yard.  They decided that they didn't need to get dressed since no one could see them in the back yard.  Oh to be 6  again!  They turned our retaining wall into a highway.  I love how my kids can play outside all day and use their imagination.  They were outside all day except to go to the bathroom or eat.  Love that!