One Plant at a Time

How do you like my bucket of tulips? Lol* I bought these rusted out old buckets at a yard sale yesterday. Hubby said to me, "What are you going to do with that junk?" I told him, "decorate!"


I'm getting closer to the garden of my dreams! Also learning the importance of strategically placed spring bloomers to awaken your garden this time of year. Last year I bought lots of plants that were finished blooming for the season in anticipation for this year's show. Like this creeping phlox that is just starting to bloom!


I need more of these...more, more, more! Lol* Some day I want one of those gardens that is just dripping with flowers...but on a smaller scale.


I am loving right now irises for their flowers and the interest of their foliage. They will be another of my focuses this year, adding them in clumps throughout the beds for that "awake" look that they give the garden this time of year.

Here are a few more things I was happy to see coming along on my walk this morning through the yard...lily of the valley emerging...


Mulch is actually waiting out front to be spread, something I didn't do last year. BIG MISTAKE. Lol* For me this did not work at all. I succeeded in getting tons of reseeders but more than that, the weeds were OUT OF CONTROL. It was embarrassing by fall how bad the weeds got. So this year, I'm getting back on the wood mulch bandwagon. Lol* I've also got to find a way to guard some of my plants because Hubby stacked mulch on top of my astilbe and bleeding hearts!


I have also had bad luck with hyacinths. I buy them every year and the bulbs rot out on me. This year I tried to bury the bulb well and hope for the best. Maybe the mulch will protect them this winter from rotting again.

Three more weeks left of school! Wooohoo! I have the urge to sew in the worst way. I haven't sewn a stitch since Christmas. Time is limited but I'm still a quilt junkie like no other! Lol*

WHAT is this? Weed or Plant?

Just a quick post today...does anyone have any idea what this is? It's growing near echinacea I planted and looks reddish like echinacea leaves but I have grown them from seed before and they are usually more pointed than these and as seedlings don't nearly have as many leaves. They almost look like little asiatic lillies coming up but there are about a hundred of them in this one spot and I didn't plant any there! Anybody know? Have any ideas? Are they just weeds? They are near previously planted gooseneck, lillies, echinacea, rhudbeckia, foxgloves, and probably several other plants I can't think of at the moment. I can't decide if I should yank 'em or leave 'em!?

Early Spring Garden 2010

Hello! Here I am! I have spring fever big time. Five more weeks of spring semester and I'll have some time free again to sew and garden. I cannot wait! My mind has already been turning to seeds and plants when I should be focusing on muscles...eek! Here are some early spring photos I am so excited to share!

The display on our front stoop...tulips aren't ready yet and my crocuses are done, so not much color going on right now without the good ol' garden junk to liven things up. ;)


Hens and chicks! Who doesn't love these? I love the reddish color they turn when it's cold. These little guys seem so happy in their little bird house.


Irises!!! These are ones I planted last year, from a clump that my Dad had given me early in the year. They have about doubled and aren't they gorgeous already? I cannot wait to see them bloom...I also am anxious to see some yellow dwarf ones I purchased at a plant sale and some that my Husband's Grandma shared with me. Yay!

This doesn't look like much yet, but I've got lettuce sprouting around the border of this little bed, while I'm waiting for spinach and peas to show up. Behind them all will be radishes that I will plant in May.

Oh, here are my lettuce sprouts!


Here are the Irises from Hubby's Grandma - I think those are either strawberries or perennial geraniums growing around them.


Here are some hardy geraniums about to bloom...YAY! I think these also came from Hubby's Grandma...she was so kind, she knows I love plants so when she thinned her garden, all the extras came to my house. Woohee! ;)

A lonely little daffodil hanging out with the lamb's ears. Oh I love it! :)


Aren't they a pretty combination? I think Mother Nature is telling me I need to plant more daffodils here. :)

A primrose about to bloom - yay! I adore it!

Oh now these are really just weeds, a bunch of crowded buttercups, but don't they look pretty? I almost don't want to mow them! I might just let them grow there, they look so darn pretty. :)

Oh and my hydrangea is getting bigger! I can't wait, I wonder how many blooms I'll get this year!

After some cleaning and some studying I'm going to try to visit blogs - I miss everybody and I'm excited to see what you've all been doing! :)

Shameless Bragging :)

It's official...I am 365 days away from being 30!!!!! This totally makes up for it though!!! My Hubby is awesome. :)

Makeup Giveaway :)

Jean is celebrating her one year blogging anniversary with an amazing giveaway...check her out! ;)

It seems I've traded my quilts for...

note cards.
This is how I spend my evenings! UGH!!! Just got my first test grade for anatomy. I studied for hours, HOURS! I'm not doing terrible, I got a 76% C on my lecture test and 98% A on my lab test so combined I got an 87% B. This class is BRUTAL! Lol* Lots of "all of the above", "none of the above", "A and C only", or "A and D only" questions. Believe it or not that mediocre grade has me at the eighth highest grade in the class out of 200 students. Is that crazy or what? I literally cried when I saw that C though...I studied SO hard and really thought I'd gotten at least a B! That is so disappointing. But I'm happy I'm passing with a decent grade as the average grade in the class is I think 64% or 67% D.

Edited to add on 02-17-10: During lecture the professor gave us the exact stats - average grade for the class at this moment is a 62% . He said we did better than classes in the past have on the first exam. WOW! Feeling way better about my 87% average now! :)

Anatomy is still my favorite class even though it's insanely difficult. Chemistry is a struggle, mostly because the math is a challenge for me, but I'm pulling through. I have been fortunate enough to get a few breaks on some of my mistakes so just trying to keep it up.

I have barely had a spare moment as my classes are SO intense this semester. I did so well last term that it's just incredibly tough to see all these C's and B's on quizzes and tests, but I know the classes are progressively getting more difficult to start weeding students out. It's a good thing, but not necessarily a fun thing to endure. Thanks everyone for the support and encouragement, I sure need it! Hopefully I make it out of nursing school in one piece. :)

Just a Blurb! :)

Good morning Blogland! I have only a minute or two free but I wanted to update all my blogging buddies on what's going in over here. So far...STUDYING, and STUDYING, and then more STUDYING! The workload this semester is kicking my patoot! My two most intense classes are Anatomy and Chemistry...I like both of them but man do I ever have to work hard to get a mediocre grade in those classes! I got a C on my first Chem quiz, and A on the last. I did pretty good in Anatomy, a B on the first quiz and I'm waiting to hear about the second. I LOVE LOVE LOVE that class. The lab is totally the best...I look forward to it all day. I think if I weren't going into nursing, I might even enjoy microbiology or something along those lines. Super fun! :) Math is extremely fast paced this semester...I have two classes that are each a half a semester long, but to squeeze them in we cover two to three sections per class...and I have class twice a week for an hour and a half each day. WOWSA! I'll be lucky if I get a B in that class...I bombed my first two quizzes but got an A on the last one. I was kicking myself too because it was pressure and stress more than not knowing how to do the work. I'm going to school tomorrow even though I don't have classes on Friday to study for Anatomy and meet up with the Math Professor for some extra help. Lots of prayers that I can get an A on the final and still manage a B! :) I can't move on to the next class with a C and it'll set me back an entire semester for the nursing program if I don't stay on track...so I'm a little stressed! :) Lol* I'm literally spending HOURS every night studying, but you know what? I love it. It's awesome so far. :)

Ok, so off to take the oldest to school, then me and the little one are going to my school to study...then class. Back to work!!! ;)