Gardening

Growing up, my Mom always had the prettiest gardens. Part of our chores and character training included caring for them for hours every week and I swore to myself that if I ever had a yard, I'd cover it in concrete and make some kind of a court out of it.

Well, here I am, 20 years later, and I actually enjoy the very thing I hated so much growing up. We have a little lot with a new house and close neighbors and it's just so relaxing and enjoyable to spend time watering the few flowers, shrubs and trees we could fit in our little front yard while waving to neighbors driving, walking or bicycling by.

I really don't know how a chore so bothersome could become a favorite pastime, but I'm glad for it. At the end of the day, I actually look forward to checking on the plants and flowers, pulling off the dead heads and pulling up any weeds I see poking up anywhere. We haven't won the "yard of the month" award or anything, but I think we have one of the nicest yards on the street.

Today I was out spreading extra top soil, lime pellets and gypsum pellets on some target areas of grass needing a little extra help. I think those areas just don't have enough good soil underneath the sod, so I'm going to try to help it along by raking in extra soil, etc. Did you know that Starbucks will give you pounds of old coffee grinds to use in your garden? It's got a lot of nitrogen in it and I think plants do well on caffeine just like people do. =)

And now, I'm off to the pool for a few minutes before we run downtown for another photo shoot. Hope y'all are having a great day, too!