My Wild and Loveable Gardens

Everyday I go out and check my flower, herb, and vegetable gardens to see what's growing and what bugs need shooed away.  Tonight when I went out, this breathtaking Gladiola was hiding behind the gigantic sunflowers.  Isn't God the perfect artist?! 

My Morning Glories are getting wild and full.  They will start to bloom in another week or two and will give the back neighbors a glorious show each morning!

Aren't baby vegetables the cutest little things?  I am getting such a kick out of the tiny little okras coming on!

I'm excited to eat beets soon!  I like them cooked and buttered or pickled.  These are so cool...they are a long narrow kind.

Baby pickles in the making.

Did you know that if female zucchini plants don't get pollinated, the little baby zuke will die?  I am going out everyday to hand pollinate them, in case the bees don't find them.

Most precious of all...itty bitty baby pumpkins!  They are growing up a vegetable trellis.

And here she is!  The Square Foot Garden!  She's done a great job...we've had lots of lettuce and radishes.  Now green beans, zukes, and cukes.  Soon everything else!  That little vine on the right end is a mystery.  I'm letting it grow up some twine, just waiting to see what it is.

My flower gardens started out so neat and orderly.  Now they are getting wild and wooly!  But in my quest to conquer perfectionism, I am finding it all to be unique, adorable, and loveable.  Even though the gladiolas are falling over with weight, the Butterfly Bush is all over the place (it started out 6 inches tall this spring!), and the Bee Balm is taking over.

Didn't have much hope for my Verbena to make it...it looked so puny and sick this spring.  But she is showing ME!  So sweet.

I love sunflowers.  I planted seeds from one packet and they are coming up different sizes and heights!  This one is about 9 feet tall!!  And is a beautiful rust colored.

The birds planted these, right below the bird feeder.  They have each one been perfect and so cheery.  All different sizes too!  The bigger one has begun to fade, but the Goldfinch birds are enjoying eating the seeds.

My very first Lupine ever!!

"Mama, please let me come outside again.  I promise not to eat anymore of the brillo pad Daddy used for cleaning the grill and left laying in the grass...."

And lastly, before coming in, I enjoyed a hug from the Lord...this little Goldfinch feeding nearby.  I am soooo thankful He made blooms and birds.
Thank you for dropping in to visit!
Hope your heart was cheered by time in a garden.

Blessings,
Donna

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It's The Little Things....

It's really the little things in life that make me excited!  Such as these sweet, old-fashioned cannisters on my counter, that have been sitting 'naked' for months while I longed to label them in some cute way.

Today they got labeled!  With "courier" font...my vintage fave right now.  And with green polka dot paper.  I just printed the labels, glued them to the paper, cut them apart, and used clear packing tape to attach them.

This sweet old jar came to me as a gift, bearing homemade granola.  Too cute to put in a cupboard, it become my baking soda jar.  So handy when baking.

This was a spice holder that got used up...now it also holds baking soda and is sooo handy for using as a mild abrasive on dishes or the counter top.  The shake top under the lid is the key.

More little things...my herb garden grew more than the weeds while we were gone last week to a lake house family gathering.  The smells of basil, dill, cilantro, and sage just make me want to eat fresh!  Can't help but walk by and rub a few leaves with my fingers so I can smell those heady aromas.

This little thing is a new Rosemary plant...on clearance for $1 at Walmart.  Yay!

My cinder block gardening is going great.  Asters came up by seed as well as African Daisies, Morning Glories, and the Gladioli bulbs are 18 inches tall.

The square foot garden is also producing well. Picked enough romaine lettuce to make salad for the neighborhood!

Our first baby zucchini!  I'm a happy Mama.

My kitchen calendar page for June is a cottage by a lake...another fun little thing!  We just spent 4 days at an amazing lake house with the whole Hayden clan in the month of June.

I don't have a clothes line, but I can take my drying rack out into the sun.  A happy 'little thing'.

And lastly, another sweet little thing...journals make me feel obligated to write too much, but this little Mary Englebreit daily planner gives me just a few lines to record the highlights of each day.  I love having these little journals to look back at from the past 7 years.

What little things are bringing fun, love, joy, happiness, and sunshine to your days?  Did you see the quote at the top of my journal page for May 9-15?  I love it.

"Life isn't a matter of milestones but of moments."

Blessings,

Donna 
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