My Yard Hands at Work!

It's probably a stretch to say that I have a green thumb, but every year (with the exception of one), I've had flowerbeds to fawn over and obsess. Last year's beds were my best to date, and I'm going for gold this season! I think I might try to "go green" this year and use only organic means of maintaining my beds...so no Miracle Grow or weed chemicals in 2010. I've been reading up on some tips, and I'm ready for the warmer weather and a chance to try out what I'm learning. Growing things looks easier than it actually is, and my two small beds take quite a bit of attention, but I enjoy maintaining them and so do the girls. (And for Donnie....not so much. He is not a fan of the great outdoors, so yardwork is not a "couples thing" for us!) They each have gardening gloves (that they never wear because it hinders their ability to squish mud between their fingers) and small gardening tools to "help" me when I'm weeding. They love to water the flowers and have actually become quite good at watering not only the plants, but each other. Most of our summer evenings ended with one or both of the girls soaking wet! By the end of the season last year, Sydni could identify a weed and pull it out without breaking the root. I'm so ready for warmer weather to arrive so we can get started on our flowerbed project!

Even though planting for the summer season is months away, the girls and I cleaned out the beds this weekend. It was too gorgeous of weather not to be outdoors! Syd and Mak made a mud pies and found a few worm friends, but we were able to clean out both beds and trim the hedges. I also managed to trim the rose bush without cutting the power cord to the electric trimmer! Yep, I did that last year...stupid green extension cord blended in with the bush and I whacked it in two before realizing that it wasn't a part of the bush. I remember thinking (before realizing what I had done, "Why is this bush sparking?". I told you it was extreme exaggeration to call me a green thumb...I bet most gardeners avoid electrocuting themselves when trimming. Here's to hoping I make it through the gardening season of 2010 without frying myself!

The flowerbeds of 2009...my competition for this year's challenge!

I've figured out that this combination of flowers works best in our beds. Almost anything else dies as soon as the temps get past 95 degrees.

See Sydni's worm on her hand? There was also a nice pile of snails they found and played with while I worked! These girls are no strangers to mud. They play like little boys most of the time! More worms...she knows NOT to kill them! They are good for the flowerbeds!