spring is springing!

i love spring! actually i love the beginning of every season, but especially love spring. after months of clouds, rain + eating wholesome, rich + fattening winter stews, i am overjoyed with just the thought of being out in my garden! + i can just taste those fresh, sun warmed heirloom tomatoes! however, last weekend was a bit bitter sweet - as it always is the first weekend i spend clearing + cleaning up my yard. happy to be outside in the warm sun, but saddened because i know what is a head of me - dead, soggy, messy + bug infested debris...not to mention the over abundance of weeds + clovers that have been living large all winter long (if only my roses were as hardy as these weeds)!! with that said, i got down to work without much complaint because, after all, it was a beautiful day in the valley.

this year i was blessed with finding baby salamanders, lizards, too many bugs to count + actually saved a bird from the tummy of my naughty cat uday (yes, her sister is qusay and they earned those names).

so after two days of hard labor i was ready to start planting. off to van windens i went...they always have the most selective variety of plants + supplies. i especially appreciate their efforts to educate their clients on eco friendly alternative fertilizers +pest/disease/weed control. their staff is friendly, knowledgeable + patient. year after i year i tend to let my excitement get the better of me + have a tendency to purchase everything + anything that tickles my fancy. ultimately, leaving me looking dazed + confused in my front lawn - mapping and re-mapping the placement of each new plant - forgetting any rules of symmetry (sorry mom), giving up half way through + sadly killing several of the plants that did not get blessed with finding a home. this craziness has been my way into the world of gardening that started 7 years ago (a year after i purchased this house + killed everything in the garden - yes, water is key). but this year i was better - perhaps it has to do with the massive budget i am on - or perhaps it has to do with the efforts i am making to not be so wasteful. either way, each and every plant found a home and the garden looks like SPRING!