"A Feast of Color" Home & Garden Expo (AKA: "Weekend Eyecandy")

Hello everyone and happy spring!  I am beside myself with delight at seeing all of the gorgeous colors outside!  It seems like every time I leave the house, something new has bloomed or new green shoots have sprung from the ground.  The trees are bursting with color, and the first blooms of the season are well underway.  While my crocuses have disappeared, the daffodils are still going strong and some of the tulips are starting to bloom.  

With the arrival of the warmer temperatures, we've been busy moving forward on the preparation of our raised vegetable bed!  I am currently in the process of drafting a series of posts related to that, so I won't say too much about it now... but I promise, it's coming soon!!

In the meantime, to tide you over until then, feast your eyes on these photos I took while attending a local home & garden expo! Have you ever SEEN such a display?  I felt like Alice in Wonderland. ;) 

I simply LOVE these hot pink tulips!  The color palette shown here is always a winner in my book.
I can't help myself; I adore pink. ;)

“Is the spring coming?" he said. "What is it like?"...

"It is the sun shining on the rain and the rain falling on the sunshine...” 

― Frances Hodgson Burnett, The Secret Garden

Walking around, I was flooded with all kinds of ideas and inspiration for things to plant.  This particular garden center has the most extensive selection of flowers and vegetables I've ever seen.  While it tends to be more expensive than other places, I love to go here for inspiration and for things I can't find anywhere else.  The quality is always great, and more often than not I end up coming home with something new.  Not only are the sights and smells complimentary, but the staff is very knowledgable and there are almost always free educational workshops and activities for kids and adults alike.  If you're a beginner gardener, these kinds of places can be a good resource [if a little dangerous for the wallet. ;) ]

“I must have flowers, always, and always.” 

― Claude Monet

Look at all those baby vegetables!  Speaking of baby vegetables, here's an update on my seedlings.  The beans sprouts, in particular, have grown a LOT, and quickly.  Check it out!

This is Not a photo from the expo, in case you couldn't tell. (haha) ;)

Literally, these little guys quadrupled in size in just a few days' time.  If I'm being critical, I notice that they appear a bit "leggy," which indicates they're technically not getting enough sun.  This doesn't surprise me, though, as I mentioned before I don't have the best indoor growing conditions.  But the good news is, they'll be in the ground outside soon enough so we'll see how they do then!

Thanks for reading!  Enjoy your weekend and spend some time outside if you can!

Adios, amigos!


-Sarah

Spring Excitement!

Well friends, the season is here!  It's officially spring!  Could it be that the cold weather is nearly behind us?  If you're like me, you tend to get really excited and try to rush the season.   I have killed many a plant in the past due to a lack of patience!  The deceptive sunny days have often tricked me into running out and buying tender young plants that then get decimated by an unexpected frost.  My mistakes have taught me a lesson, so now if I simply Must plant something, I take precautions and keep them inside until the weather is consistently in the mid 60's.  (Even then, some of the summer crops like tomatoes and cucumbers don't like chilly night air so they have to wait until later in the season.)

...Which brings me to SEEDLINGS!  My husband and I just couldn't wait so we started some seeds indoors.  Feast your eyes on these teeny baby plants!

Baby veggies!
(From Left to Right: Golden Detroit Beets, Fiesta Radishes, Bush Beans)

I honestly wasn't sure if they would sprout at all.  We don't have the best of indoor conditions, considering we only have one workable south-facing window and two cats who would love nothing more than to chomp these and knock them over.  I admit that I haven't had the best luck in the past, so I was pleasantly surprised that these popped up in only a few days, the first couple of which were in indirect, low lighting conditions.  The radishes were the first to pop.  They are fast-growing anyway and will probably have to be thinned later on.

I later moved them all into the guest room, which is the warmest and sunniest room of the house where I can keep the cats out.  Now they all seem to be doing much better, which is very exciting!  Also planted were some seeds for red lettuce and red globe bunching onions.  They have not yet sprouted, but I am hopeful.

Seeds can be a fun and inexpensive experiment for first-time gardeners.  Dollar for dollar, seeds are the cheapest way to go.  I don't do them every year; sometimes I run out of time and prefer to purchase plants to get a jump start.  When I do decide to start seeds indoors, I always remind myself that there's a risk involved: not all seedlings make it.  Sometimes even if they do make it, the plant isn't as healthy and well-established as one raised in a nursery, so it may not produce as well.  Even when sowing seeds directly outside, it's important to remember that birds love to come along and pluck them right out of the soil, so scattering more than you think you'll need is probably a good idea.  You can always thin them out later.  (Follow your package instructions for best results.)

Through trial and error, I have learned for myself what plants I have good luck with starting from seeds and which I don't.  For example, I no longer try to start tomatoes from seeds.  I'm sure others do it with perfect success... perhaps they have greenhouses?  In any case, I care far too much about my tomatoes in particular to risk the heartache of failure.  However, your experience may be completely different from mine, so I encourage you to try whatever feels right!  You'll learn for yourself what works for you.

For more information on starting seeds indoors, read: Old Farmer's Almanac: Starting Seeds Indoors

"So, where's the best place to buy seeds?"

Honestly, I've tried a bunch of different brands from a ton of sources with mixed success.  Seeds are readily available at any home & garden center in your area.  They are almost always pretty inexpensive unless you're purchasing a special heirloom variety that may be rare.  Stores like Home Depot and Ace Hardware will carry all the usual favorites and sometimes more.

If you're looking for something more specialized, the go-to resource is Johnny's Selected Seeds.  Not only do they have nearly every type of seed you can think of (red burgundy okra?  You betcha!), but they have an on-site seed lab where they put their entire stock to the test.  Their website is an amazing resource for other gardening knowledge, and their catalog is the perfect eye-candy for the aspiring gardener like myself.  (It's also freeeee...)

Another resource that I can't recommend enough is your local farmer's market, especially for young plants.  Alex and I have often remarked how every plant we have bought from the farmer's market has not only survived, but thrived!  This is because your local growers know which varieties of plants are most successful in your area.  If you're truly interested in gardening, the best resource is a local!  Take a walk around your neighborhood; you probably know or can at least guess who the good gardeners are.  You'll probably see them outside covered in dirt if the weather is nice!  Get to know them!  Not only might they share with you their knowledge, but they might think of you when they have that bumper crop of cucumbers or all those extra daffodil bulbs.  Part of the joy of gardening is getting to share it with others, after all. :)

That's all for this post!  Stay tuned-- a post regarding the new raised vegetable bed is coming soon, along with more spring eye-candy from "A Feast of Color" Home & Garden Expo.

Ta-ta for now,

Sarah