Mary 29, 2023
Welcome back, friends! I am so grateful for each one of you who reads my blog, and thank you to those who have taken time to encourage me personally. My brother shared recently with me that a lady in his church commented that she enjoys reading my posts. You know who you are, and I thank you for your kind words!
Some have wanted to “like” my blog posts but were not quite sure how. If you ever care to, simply click the heart icon on the front page of the blog post (the heart is also visible at the bottom of the actual post).
Also, if you ever care to make a comment, simply write your comment in the bottom of the blog post. You do not have to be a member or subscriber to post a comment (I’m pretty sure…someone correct me if I’m wrong). I love getting comments from my readers, and comments allow me to interact with you all and hear from you!
I am working to get Pinterest capabilities up and running again. Wix changed some of the features for Pinterest, and so I have to go back and manually change some things. Please excuse the messy look with Pinterest icons randomly placed. Once I get all my pictures Pinterest ready, feel free to pin as many pictures as you like if you have a Pinterest account! That’s a great way to show support for this blog and help others discover this little corner of the internet.
If you ever notice that something doesn’t seem right or isn’t working on my blog, please give me a holler! I am so appreciative of outside advice and input.
Well, enough blog talk, and let’s get into what I have for you today. I try to keep the posts fresh with a variety of topics so that the blog seems living and inviting. Today’s post will be lighthearted and chatty since this weekend will be busy with family and friends and my time is therefore limited.
My house has been a wreck lately, and I honestly haven’t cleaned the whole place in several weeks! Yikes. As I pondered why in the world I can’t seem to get on top of the house duties, it dawned on me that we are spending a lot of time outside, especially in the garden.
Planting and nurturing flowers and plants is so important to me, and I am willing to set aside many other responsibilities at this time of year to get my “babies” going in my flower beds. The actual process of gardening brings me so much joy, and when the flowers mature and bloom later in the summer, my heart is simply full of awe at God’s creation. Nothing compares to the process of watching something grow, and I am convinced that God created the process and cycle of plant growth to teach us about Him and imbue our lives with quiet wonder and happiness.
This year my goal is to keep costs down in the garden, and I even recently created a video on some inexpensive gardening ideas. Gardening can be very expensive, but it doesn’t have to be. One of the greatest ways to keep garden costs down is to start from seeds. Starting plants from seeds takes tremendous patience, admittedly, but the process is rewarding and instructive especially for children.
Some plants that I started from seed this year are zinnias, sunflowers, morning glory, petunias, and sweet pea. Zinnias are by far my favorite flower to grow because they are so easy and resilient. Zinnias sprout quickly, grow rapidly, and produce flowers in record time, about 35 days according to one of my seed packets.
I planted morning glories in several locations this year. The morning glories have sprouted and are already winding their way up the large trellis in my front garden. The morning glories on my back patio look charming in a small green pot growing on a chicken wire trellis from Hobby Lobby.
This year I had hopes of growing some vegetables, and I have planted a few. With the rising food costs, I’d love to grow food to feed my family and at least supplement our table. In an ideal world with boundless energy, limitless resources, and lots of help from hubby, growing food for our family would be possible. But I’ve come to grips with the fact that I just simply can’t do everything and do it well with my energy levels, and my husband has limited time though a very willing heart to help me.
So at least for now, I’m sticking to my usual flowers and other beautiful plants in my gardening. Flowers bring me so much joy, and I believe others enjoy visiting my home and seeing God’s beautiful handiwork in the garden.
Last year I invested several hundred dollars in plants such as blueberry bushes, hydrangea, and a butterfly bush, but this year I tried not to spend as much money on actual plants. I did buy a few plants to fill some containers in locations where I wanted “instant” color and maturity.
A large multi-trunk maple resides on the side of our house, and though I love it dearly and would miss it terribly if it ever had to go, its roots have permeated my front garden and become very unwelcome guests. The soil in the mulch beds closest to the maple are so fibrous with roots that I can hardly grow any plants in those beds.
My solution to bringing plants to that side of the house was creating some containers with shade-loving plants such as creeping jenny and coleus. I’ve also started an experiment of training some ivy to grow up an upside-down tomato cage. It may take several years to train the ivy, and I may end up having to buy a few more ivy plants. I am looking forward to having some year-round color in the pots by my side door.
As I shared in a YouTube short, I bought several herbs, rosemary and pineapple sage, to fill out several spots in my front garden. I try to have a more relaxed “cottage” look, and the rosemary and pineapple sage are wonderful plants to bring that charming look.
Let me share a side note on perfectionism and gardening. You don’t have to be perfect to have a garden. Your garden doesn’t have to be perfect. Your house doesn’t have to be perfect before you can garden. Are you sensing a theme that life isn’t perfect? This life will never, ever be perfect. So don’t wait for life to be perfect before you savor God’s goodness around you. Quit looking at perfect pictures on social media; jump into gardening and go plant some zinnia seeds!
Thank you for joining me for a more relaxed, chatty blog post! I hope that you have an amazing day with family and friends this Memorial Day.
-Ashley
