Roses Are Red...

This Valentine's Day my husband surprised me with a few gifts and one of them was this gorgeous red rose. I had to wait a few days to take a picture because it hadn't bloomed yet. Although the bud was beautiful, I wanted to wait for the full monty. I have no idea what kind of rose this is (if you do please tell me) but I'm hoping to be able to find one to grow in my back garden. I also need a trailing kind to grow up the fencing and block out the ugly driveway on the other side.

Eventually my ugly barren back garden will be exploding with colors and life. My tulips are coming up and should be making their debut in a couple weeks. For a while I thought I planted them too deep but I guess I didn't because they look strong and healthy so far. I planted some shallots in the new bed but they aren't doing anything yet (stubborn). Still too cold and not enough sunlight. But my garlic is beginning to show signs of life in seedling pots. Fearing rot I took them out of the greenhouse because it was too cold and wet. My courgettes (zucchini) are doing amazing. I have 4 seedlings going and have already repotted one into its adult pot. It looks so tiny and alone but in no time it will be huge and trailing out of the pot (fingers crossed).

My tomato seedlings are popping up finally as well. I had all but given up hope of growing those little suckers. And I know enough to plant them as deep as the first set of leaves to ensure further rooting and a stronger stem. Saw that on tv.

So if you're a novice (like me) or a seasoned gardener share some of your tips of the trade. What are you doing this time of the year?

Homemade Plant Tags

If you know me at all you know how frugal I am. In fact, I devoted an entire blog to it. So it should come as no surprise that, whenever possible, I will make something myself instead of buying it.

This is a prime example. Clothes peg plant markers. I bought 40 clothes pegs for under 2 euro and 2 permanent markers for 2.65 (they only came as a set). And, as luck would have it, there was a can of paint under my kitchen sink from when they built my house. Bonus!

I do have to mention that I did attempt to buy tags at the garden center but they hadn't gotten them in yet. But knowing how expensive things are in Ireland I'm going to harbor a guess that I did save some money making them myself. Plus it was a fun little craft project.

Clothes Peg Plant Markers in 3 Easy Steps:

1. Either keep pegs in tact or break them apart into 2 pieces.

2. Paint the pegs with any paint you have lying around the house. Try not to paint the part that goes into the soil to avoid contamination.



3. When dry, use a permanent marker to write the name of the plant on them. My penmanship is atrocious but I'm sure yours is a lot better.



And that's it you're done. Just keep in mind it may take overnight for the paint to dry. You can clip them to the side of the pot or put them in the soil like I did here. I like clipping them because they don't get as dirty and they're easier to read. But if you're using trays like I am you'll need to make both. Have fun!

I Did A LOT Today!

As you can see most of my back garden is either concrete slabs or rocky nutrient lacking soil. So what I did was section out the largest area without slabs, which is roughly 3ft X 7ft, and put 2 layers of compost followed by 1 layer of manure then another layer of compost again. It really needs to be built up a little higher with maybe another layer or two of compost. I want it to go up high enough to be flush with the back wood barrier.

There's a dripping pipe along the far fence so I put that 2X12 behind it to block it off. Plus I put loads of rocks for proper drainage so it doesn't leak into my garden. And now it's just about ready to plant seeds and my seedlings next month.

I've had great luck with my brussel sprout seedlings as most of them are shooting up. Plus a few courgettes are starting to poke their heads out.



This is the ambitious plan I have for my garden. Luckily the side area that's pretty dead can be used for my pots of peppers, tomatoes, and whatever else I come up with that pots well. Something tells me this isn't the last version of my plan either.

Two other quick things I did today was make an "Awesome" beef stew and blackberry pie. They came out amazing! I was so happy with myself. Here is the seasoning packet for the stew I found at the grocery store yesterday. What a tasty combination of herbs and seasonings. Plus the entire recipe is on the back of the packet. Makes cooking that much easier.

February Fun and Frittatas

After this mornings frittata triumph I went for a walk around my back garden. I wandered onto the neighbors' property only to find this little gem. A rustic cottage with smoke puffing out the chimney. The scatters of clouds in the crystal blue sky made for an amazing backdrop. I love living the countryside.

Unfortunately, it's way too cold to plant anything new. I checked on my seedlings and I think I see a courgette starting to sprout. If I could get the cat to stop stepping on my seed trays things might progress a little quicker. Decided to move the seed trays to the spare room upstairs under the skylight. It's much warmer up there and away from kitty paws. That should make the little buggers happy. Realized I should have done a little more research before I planted my seeds.

Found out:

• Small seeds (ie. strawberries) shouldn't be covered by compost, only set on top and watered.
• Even adorable greenhouses you just bought still aren't warm enough for seedlings if it's unheated and only 4 degrees Celsius.
  
• Water with warm water not cold until you see sprouts.
  
• Take 8 seeds from each packet and put them on a wet paper towel for a few days to see how many sprout. If 1/2 do, that means the packet should contain at least 1/2 sprouting seeds.
• You should draw up a calendar or journal for the seeds you have to organize when you sow them either indoors or outdoors and in pots or directly into your garden soil. Keeping in mind that even though the packet says what month to do what, your own climate might not meet the criteria.

Of course I learned this all after I was too impatient to wait and most likely ruined loads of seeds in the process. But at least you can learn from my mistakes.

Frittata Recipe

4 Free Range Eggs

1/2c Leeks sliced

1 Small Tomato diced

4 Button Mushrooms diced

1/2c Shredded Mature Cheddar

1tsp Black Pepper

*2tbsp Flavored Butter

In a frying pan add flavored butter, mushrooms, and leeks. Fry up for a few minutes over medium heat until they are tender. Scramble eggs in a bowl and add shredded cheese and black pepper. Stir. Once the veggies are ready, pour the egg mix into pan at medium heat. Drop tomatoes on top to preserve moisture. Turn oven on to Broil. When the bottom of the eggs are cooked, place on top rack in the oven and cook until eggs puff up. Cut and serve. No salt was added to this recipe. It wasn't needed.

*Flavored Butter- Red pepper, white onion, and parsley into a food processor until diced. Add twice as much butter and processes until blended. Add or change any ingredients you desire.

A New Direction

So I've decided to give my blog a less invasive atmosphere. From now on you'll see my gardening, cooking, and healthful recipes instead of showing you nasty brain worms.

It's all starts with the new house we moved into at the end of October 2008. I'm fortunate enough to live in a house with a private garden. Although the garden is small, I can still raise the bed, and pot up some flowers, fruits, and veg to grow to supplement us throughout the year (hopefully).

This is my first attempt at something like this so be patient with me. I've already made mistakes and I just started. Like I started seedlings in the house and nothing happened except the cat stepped on every pot. And I buried my strawberry seeds and should have kept them on the surface. At 4.29 for 15 seeds I wont be making that mistake again. Might just go buy strawberry seedlings and get over my foolish pride.

Here are some pics of what I've done so far and my brand spankin' new greenhouse. Ain't she pretty? I can't believe how warm it gets in there.