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..................

Sunday's Seven Snapshots.20

This Sunday's Seven Snapshots is dedicated to gardening. You read that correctly. I didn't make a mistake. My guy got this insane idea that we should have a family garden at his mum's house. I've never grown a thing - not a houseplant, not flowers, not even a cactus. Yet, here I am, married to a man who wants us to grow a garden. Always an adventure...

This is me asking the question "what in the hades has he talked me into" with Roxy, my mother-in-law's beautiful sidekick. 

Wayyyy down at the end, Neil & Kay are planning. 

Veggies and herbs waiting to be planted. 

One of my jobs - to write in chalk where everything was going to be planted. 

Tashy (my niece) helped. She also ate dirt. My sister-in-law said it's good for her immune system. 

Liam (my stepson) helped too. For about fifteen minutes. He decided the iPad was more interesting. 

Yep, I planted these babies. Carrots, broccoli, and cauliflower. Any wagers on if I can actually grow them?  

My guy failed to tell me that funnel web spiders live in dirt. I hate spiders. And, funnel webs ain't no joke. You need an anti-venom if they bite because you could die. 

Besides the funnel web sightings, today was a success. A family activity that could produce some beneficial results.