Getting serious about the side garden...

I had to make a decision:  would I be traveling a lot this spring and summer or would I have a garden? I decided I would travel in the Fall and do a big vegetable and herb garden this Spring and summer. I haven't done a large food garden for a few years and I thought it would be fun and interesting.

Plus, now that we have our new side door from our kitchen, it is so easy to step outside to water or tend the garden. No excuses! And I can admire the new blue and white paint job while I work out there!

north side of the house

new side door

So we left the straw bales from last year although they are starting to fall apart. They will last one more year once they are retied. The one which had totally fallen down was dug up and is being used to add organic material to the bottom of new grow pots I am trying out this year. 

Straw bale that fell apart

There were some strawberries that came back even though we basically ignored them all winter. I am hoping if I am a little more watchful this time around we might have a better harvest. Also I plan to fertilize more to increase the fruit growth. Last summer the birds mostly got the berries.

strawberries

strawberries

I have planted 4 tomatoes so far: 1 each of a grape cherry size, a San Marzano (for cooking), an Amish paste (also for cooking) and a beefsteak for slicing. And so far I have planted a jalapeno and a green bell pepper. I need to do a lot more maintenance on the rest of the bales before I plant more. I think the chard that came back is ok for now although I may pull it out since the plants are rather spread out and bolting already. It is also a comeback from last year.

tomato plants

chard

I am planting things like carrots and lettuces in the grow bags at the moment. I still have many more plants to decide where I will put them and whether I will start from seeds I have or get already started seedlings. 

Grow bags with carrots and lettuce seeds planted

Most of the herbs are in the front at the moment, although I am planting more Italian parsley and cilantro in this side garden.

As you can see however, the mint that was planted last year is still there and taking over the bale. I trimmed a lot of it back and may have to go in and cut more out. This time I also want to clip it and dry it for tea!

Further along the garden area is a blueberry from last year and a lime tree we planted last year. No limes yet but it is still young. Along the back of the house is our lemon tree. We planted another satsuma mandarin too but I am not sure it gets enough sun to be successful.

lime tree

blueberry plant

More garden news and photos to come as I get it planted and rearranged over the next few weeks.

More flowers and my new blue house...

The sweet peas are starting to bloom. They are coming up all over the place, both from intentional planting and their own seed scattering. I love the subtle scent although right now it is being overpowered by the orange blossoms across the yard.

And my freesias are also starting to bloom. I mostly plant these yellow ones because to me they have the sweetest most wonderful scent.

I love how the colors of the flowers play against the freshly painted house. It really brightens up the place! And I love the blue scattered around the large white chimney... it was just too much white at once without the little shots of color!

Waiting for the rain to pass...

The house painting is happening slowly, broken up by weekends and a rainy day here and there. But it is coming along nicely... blue with white trim.  In progress...

I haven't been doing much artsy stuff this week aside from watching a lot of art videos and reading blogs. Lots to catch up on and I have pretty much let myself have the week to just veg on other people's creativity.  I did sign up for Tracy Verdugo's Paint Mojo ecourse and have slowly been working on that. I love her intuitive style and thought I would splurge on the class. I am also thinking of taking Flora Bowley's online course as well to get a different look at intuitive painting. Both of them sort of early Christmas presents to myself.

And I signed up for the NaNoWriMo again this year to write 50,000 words in one month. A novel, or as they call it more likely a really awful first draft. But for me it is a month long writing project that sets me down to put words to paper on a daily basis. I did it in 2010 as well and it was pure drivel but it did get me thinking and writing which is what I wanted to do.

Many projects... open ended time... not in a hurry...

It is good to have an end to journey toward, but it is the journey that matters in the end.

--Ursula K. LeGuin

The magic is starting to happen...

After getting the back siding redone and the south side of the house patched and ready to go, the house is now being painted! Blue with white trim. Right now it is just the back and south sides. Then the north side and the front will get done in between is rain, jury duty call-in, and painter availability. Hopefully the whole house will be done before the end of the year. I am looking forward to it! It has been a little shabby around here (and not shabby chic!) and it is time for all that to change!

and here it is all blue, still waiting for the white trim...

Loving this color!