Tuesday, October 4, 2016

Flower Power

Monday was Australia's Labour Day.  (Yes, I spelled it "Labour"; if it was America's Labor Day, there wouldn't have been an "u".  The English language can be so tricky.)  That meant TWO full days off for both my guy and me.  That doesn't happen often.  We took advantage of the beautiful weather and the extra day to complete one of my "50 Before 50" tasks.  I've never owned a house plant, pot plant, or planted flowers.  Never.  I like flowers.  I admire them in others' yards.  I thought it was about time that I got some of my own.

I googled a little.  You know, looking at what I should plant during spring and in this climate.  What flowers work best in gardens or pots.  Full sun or partial shade.  Those kinds of things. 

My guy and I talked about it, looked at our yard, and decided on pots instead of planting directly into the yard.  Partly because we rent, and if these flowers live, then I'll want to take them with me when we move.  But, mainly because we didn't need anymore excess landscaping duties.  Really.  I don't need to tackle too much in this project.

We headed to Flower Power (yes, I ripped the store's name for this post's title) and rolled out with two baskets full of stuff.  Who am I?  Hey.  Guess what.  Flowers ain't cheap.  Maybe that's why I've never planted flowers before.

Liam wasn't thrilled with this shopping adventure.  But, he sure was happy when we agreed to buy these decorative animals to put in the yard.  He named them Frederick, the dog and Matilda, the cat.  He even told us we could call them Freddy and Tilly for short. 


Matilda and Frederick guarding the plants
My guy decided we needed to grow some herbs and strawberries as well.  His mother has always had gardens.  He felt pretty confident we could grow herbs and strawberries.


I agreed as long as we could buy the cute pots.  I think he snuck a tomato plant in there too.  Oh, don't worry, I've already had him agree to go buy more cute pots.


Yep, there's 3 strawberries that you can see.  We're growing strawberries already! 


Let's be honest.  I took this picture so I could remember what flowers I bought.  In addition, I got some geraniums too.


I even got myself some cute gloves, because, really, I need cute pots and cute gloves, right?

No make-up selfie for the win
Drum roll, please...................................

We've got flowers! 

You can see my inexperience with freshly planted flowers in a picture - soil everywhere!

Yea, I know, we need to clean out those dead leaves under there.  One step at a time.
My gardening squad


Now, let's only hope I can keep them alive..................


19 comments:

  1. Lol - good luck! I was going to have an herb garden this year, but I killed it, so back to dried herbs we go. Ryan did manage to keep his plants alive though and we had a few fresh tomatoes and cucumbers from his plants. I hope you enjoy it! I always think plants are going to be fun but a couple months later I don't care about them anymore. I have better luck with the indoor plants because I actually remember to water them. :P

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  2. Ooh, very pretty!!

    We have some supermarket herbs that we put on the balcony. The rosemary is dead though and the basil isn't looking too healthy :-( I have other seeds but can't plant them until spring... it's autumn here and not all that warm any more.

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  3. if this isn't the cutest post ever. yay for flowers! and herbs and such. i need to just suck it up and get some potted things already. i wish i could have a plant or two in the house but jack eats all things green. i don't get it. animals. here's hoping they do quite well!

    xoxo cheshire kat

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  4. Yay! So pretty. My mom has such a green thumb and loves to plant really beautiful arrangements in the spring. All inside the house she has tons of plants that make me so envious. For the longest time I had a total black thumb and couldn't even keep a cactus alive. Eventually I asked my mom to "start" the plants for me, get them healthy, and then all I'd have to do was maintain. There have been a few close calls but I've kept 4 alive AND even learned how to take a clipping from one plant and make a second one out of it, which I feel like is a HUGE success for me!
    BUT...I still think flowers are a little out of my league ;) yours look lovely though. And strawberries already, awesome! Good luck :)

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  5. As we go into everything dying for winter, i'm going to live vicariously through your beautiful flowers.
    Love your garden dog & cat :)
    & loving your makeup free selfie! Beautiful lady!

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  6. Matilda is a great name for cat! Liam is very creative. Love all the flowers and plants too. I have a terrible black thumb but keep trying. It makes me feel happy when I can look outside and see blooming flowers on my patio. I just wish that I could keep them alive for an entire season. Fingers crossed, you can do better than me! And I always get dirt all over the planters too. Just consider it proof of your hard work!

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  7. It feels so good to get those suckers in the dirts after you've spent all that time researching and all that money purchasing! We just finished up the front yard landscaping and now we're tackling the backyard! It's tough but the aesthetic reward is so great! Looks awesome, Erin!

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  8. Beautiful! Way to go!

    I also love the names of the lawn decorations. :)

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  9. That's awesome that you planted all of those flowers! I definitely don't have a green thumb which is why I mainly make Chris do all of the yardwork. I hope that all of your herbs and fruits/veggies turn out great too!

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  10. I have to side with Liam- I'm more excited by purchasing cute pots than gardening, mainly because I have a black thumb! I've tried fruitlessly (haha) to keep plants alive, but so far have only been successful with one, and that one is because an ex told me I couldn't, so obviously I must prove him wrong. Looks like you're off to a great start though! They look so pretty!

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  11. So my sister and Mom are greenthumbs and I am NOT. The fact that our flowers are blooming is a miracle. The only thing I've done is watered them after getting them planted (mostly by Teh Mom and Teh Sister). I also have the plants in the kitchen window, but they aren't doing so hot. I'm actually considering moving them upstairs to the bathroom window so that way I don't feel the need to mess with them as often, which will keep me from overwatering, which will keep the plants from being too wet, which will keep the fungus away. The only thing I know I need to do is put some mulch/wood chips down on the flower beds in the front of the house, but I just hate getting dirty.

    That said, I'm a super messy gardener. There is always dirt everywhere. I'm that person that would also have dirt streaks across my face because I'd wipe my face with my dirty hands.

    I kinda wanted pots in addition to the beds, but I'm ok with our set up right now.

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  12. Look at you go!!! Your flowers look so pretty!!! I have been meaning to do something outside to make our house look more colorful or whatever but I always get lazy. I need to make it a point next spring for sure.

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  13. Look at you Miss Green Thumb. The flowers loook beautiful and I especially love the ceramic animals Liam picked for the yard. Good job buddy!

    XO

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  14. sounds like a lovely day!

    and that no-make-up selfie. i like it. :]

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  15. This is so fun! I have the blackest of thumbs, but aspire to someday keep plants alive! hehe I always love the look of large pots with varied flowers like this. So glad your project turned out. Love that he named the little animals. :) XO - Alexandra

    Simply Alexandra: My Favorite Things

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  16. I feel like I kill every plant I try to nurture. Hopefully you'll discover you have a green thumb after all!

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  17. flower power! lordy i wasted SO many hours at that store. we have the smallest little soil area near the front door and my mum could buy flowers every single day, i kid you not. she loves wandering around and switching out her plants and flowers in the pots. it is ridiculous and expensive haha. i have never tried here. my MIL bought us hydrangeas that sit in our front yard and they are very pretty when they aren't completely burned from the sun lol. but anyway. good luck with the strawberries and tomatoes! i want to grow tomatoes!
    ps. love that you do labour and labor. i do the same thing. if i am using labour in a sentence, i'll use the U, but if i am talking something american specific, i say labor. kind of like mom and mum. if i talk about your mom, i say mom. mine, i say mum.

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  18. I have a black thumb. I try with flowers and had moderate success this year. Our dry climate can be tough.
    However, I cannot grow vegetables to save my life. Scott is the gardener.

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  19. Whoa - you guys did a great job on the flower pots! I love to plant but it's hit or miss if I do it or not because isn't there always some shit to be done and then time gets away?!? Love Freddy and Tilly the best!

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