SpringChicken's Blog

Back In The Saddle....
Mar 20, 2008 | 9:34 PM PST

03/20/08  Boy, it feels like I've been gone from GG for ages! Just got back from a 5 day trip to Destin.  Had a blast! Got sunburnt! Ate a WHOLE lotta shrimp! The ride down there and back was just beautiful! We went through Hotlanta first and then headed on down to the panhandle.  I couldn't believe everything that was already in bloom the farther south we drove!  Tulip trees, forsythia, red buds, dogwoods, Bradford Pears (grrrr..highly allergic!) and so much more. Made me excited to get back home and get to going on the ol' dirt pit here.  I usually dread coming home from vacation even though I'm usually homesick. It sure is hard to leave the beach!!

As soon as I got home I headed straight for The Home Depot and bought some more "junk".  I saw some beautiful English style gardens in Florida that really wet my appetite and helped me to decide on an English theme for my own yard.  I had been debating different ideas but the gardens I saw really cranked my tractor!!  Of course, I will save a bed or two for the ol' faithfuls! I have to have a formal garden next to the house because of the layout.  I really need to get my camera going again and post some pics for ya'll to ponder.  I would love to have some inspiration sent my way .

If anyone else has an English style garden, please give me some suggestions on planting techniques so that it doesn't end up looking like so formal after all.  I tend to be kind of obsessive compulsive when I work on a project.  I don't want my ideal laid back English garden to look to prim and proper.  Ya'll take care now!

Spring Chicken....Mountain Lady
Mar 12, 2008 | 7:12 AM PST

03/12/08

Hey ya'll! I am going to make this short and sweet so as not to lose this blog entry like I did my first one.

Short History:  We lost our last home (a rental) to a house fire on the night of December 31, 2005. We awoke at 2:00 in the morning to our German Shepherd, Princess, barking like crazy.  An old electric wire heater had caught fire from poor wiring within the wall.  Thankfully, we all got out alright. We suffered a total loss because what the fire didn't get, the smoke and water damage did.  We did not have renter's insurance as we never saw a need for it.  Boy was that a big lesson learned!!!  We were able to quickly get back to our feet with help from family, friends, coworkers, church members, and even complete strangers.  We stayed in a rental  A-frame log cabin on the lake for a while thanks to a generous church member.  God truly watched over us and blessed us immensely during this trial and we came out better than we were before!

Eventually we had to start looking for a place of our own.  We always dreamed of owning our own home and land.  After months of searching for an affordable piece of property, my husband stumbled on 2 1/2 acres on the side of a mountain within our area.  I wasn't too keen on the property because A.) it was literally on the side of a mountain, B.) completely undeveloped, C.) forest land, D.) very rocky, and E.) very rural.  This place was his dream land as he is an obsessed deer hunter and outdoorsman.  He took one look at this property and saw gold.  I took one look at it and saw a disaster.  We finally came to an agreement that I would purchase the land if he would promise me a flat, level, lush, green yard that I could fix up to my likings.  Of course, by this time he would have agreed to anything! LOL!

Present Day:  Well here I am a year and a half later and still living with a big mud pit (Alabama red clay mud mind you) surrounded by a vast woodland.  After our home was finished we didn't have the finances for a while to start on the landscaping end and we are just now able to do so.  Therefore, as I start this exciting journey fixing up the ol' mud pit, I will be blogging each step of the way.  I have never done anything like this before so please stick with me and forgive my mess ups. 

I have lots of creative juices a flowin and am anxious to get started.  Last  year my gardening was very meek and simple consisting of only some container plantings and a few starts from plants my mother has in her yard. (By the way, my mother has a big ol' fat green thumb and her yard looks like a picture out of Better Homes and Gardens!)  She shared some day lillies, cannas, an Easter lillie, and hosta with me.  My sister gave me all of her elephant ears which did wonderfully last year.  I had one that was so big it took up the whole front corner of my house as it was right under the water hose spicket.  I did manage to make one small rock flower bed around my mailbox containing red sage and white impatiens.

In years past at my old home I grew everything from seed.  I would just plant the seed right in the ground and cross my fingers.  A few things I have always had good luck with this method are zinnias, sunflowers, and asters.  I also use to do really well with my gladiola bulbs (one of my favorites.)  This year I have begun sewing indoors.  I am still on a tight budget because we just purchased a new car and will be going on vacation next week.  I have to be creative so I am utilizing old 2-liter and 3-liter bottles that I have cut the bottoms out of for starting my seedlings.  I started yesterday with cleome (Rose Queen) and sweet williams.  I realize that both of these can self-sew but I want flowers fast!

I have several new things that I want to try such as hypertufa and my most exciting project, COMPOSTING!  I am particularly interested in composting to save money for fertilizer.  I have already started begging family and friends to save me compost materials.  I am going to go to my mother's house tonight and get me a big ol' helpin' of cow poop from the cow field behind her house.  Yeeeee-haw!!  I'm teaching my kids what to throw away and what to save for the compost pile.  I stll don't know what kind of container/bin I will be using and would appreciate any ideas for how to do this on the cheap.

I am bursting with excitement awaiting all of the new "goodies" that I have ordered from seed companies!!!  I would appreciate any seeds or cuttings that anyone can donate for my collection.  Over the next several months I will be picking everyone's brains for tips and ideas.  A couple of big hurdles for me right now are a BIG hill directly behind my home that washes red clay mud into the front and side yards and also the fact that I have minimal areas of full sun.  Needless to say, I will be needing a lot of groundcovers for erosion problems and shade loving plants for under/around the trees. 

Well, maybe I didn't make this so short and sweet after all. ; )  I've been stopping and saving every few sentences so as to not lose this post.  GTG!  Ya'll com back now, ya hear?!