Egyptian Lavender? It Exists??

Hello! As I mentioned last week, I've planted some of my seeds (but not all, since it's been so rainy, and I think Love would have a conniption fit if I did this indoors), have almost finished my herb jars, and was able to take photos of the mini lime babies that have popped up on the tree! I haven't been out to look in the last few days, so I hope they've been surviving the rain alright, but as of a few days ago, they were there, and CUUUTE!

So first things first: I finished the jars to the extent that I have been able to store the herbs in them and put them in the cupboard, but to be completely honest, I actually forgot all about making the labels! This is probably because I'm subconsiously afraid of how they will--or won't--turn out. Meh... I'll do it this weekend, and take pictures. Honest. 0:-)

I planted the seeds last Friday, so hopefully we will see some growth soon. I know that it takes a few weeks before they officially sprout, but I'm just so excited for them to grow up into little adult plants! I also treated myself to two types of lavender when I was at the nursery, getting more soil: French Lavender and, apparently, Egyptian Lavender. Go figure. ;) I was hoping to get some Bulgarian lavender, but these will work just fine, especially considering that now I know that there even IS such a thing as Egyptian Lavender!

Like I mentioned before, Mr. Lime seems to be doing well. Here is a post-blossom photo of a few of the little survivors, as of probably 5 days ago:

Anyway, this is it for now. I intend to finish the jars this weekend, as well as make some garden labels for all my newly-acquired plants. If I'm able to catch the sun, I'll even plant the rest of the seeds!

Have a wonderful weekend! :)

Being Productive

I GOT MY SEEDS THIS WEEK!!!! I'm so excited that I don't know what to do with myself! Of course, it would stand to reason that I should perhaps start by sticking them in some dirt and giving them a drink, but I don't actually have anything to plant them in right now, so I'll have to stop at the nursery after my ballet class tomorrow to get some new pots and soil.... heh. Can you imagine me carting around potting soil in pink Capezio tights? ;-P

Anyway, since it's the rainy season, I'm worried about Mr. Lime. Certainly, he benefits from the rain, and lately he has been much happier than during the dry season, but this week it got to the point where the tree actually suffered leaf-and-blossom drop! :( I read up on it, and apparently it will feel better once the weather stops being so drippy, but I just hope we will still get at least some pseudo-limes this year... not to mention that it's been so dreary, due to the rain clouds, that it's been dark by the time I get home from work so I can't even go outside to check on the poor thing. I'll make a visit tomorrow, though, once I'm thoroughly dirtied up from the above-mentioned potting soil, as I might actually have some daylight to burn.

In other news, I know that before, I said that soon I would be in the mood for Valentine's Day, but to tell the truth, my mind oftentimes skips holidays in favor of others. Last year I was ready for Valentine's Day during the Christmas season, and this year, all I want is a good feis on St. Patrick's Day. Unfortunately, those don't exactly happen in my neck of the woods. Hopefully, at least, I'll soon get my head out of the clover fields and back to the heart-shaped chocolate box, where it currently belongs! ;) I do have some adorable ideas for Valentine's Day decorations, and will hopefully be able to get started on those in the next week or two. First, however, come the potting of the seeds and, of course, the herb jar project I started this week.

Speaking of the herb jars, I've gotten the labels off successfully, and am currently trying to make the lids look decent and decide on what sort of labels to make. Since I don't have a printer, let alone specialized printing paper, my labels will be done completely by hand, and attached with something probably scarily similar to generic white school glue... not that I have any idea if this will even work. I'll let you know, though, and soon, as Love wants my project out of the living room! Hehehe!

Anyway, I'm off to work on my jars. I keep motivating myself with the notion that the sooner the jars are done, the sooner I can USE them, and that's the part I'm actually excited about. :)

Talk to you later! I'm off to be productive!

The Beginnings of a Garden

Hello there! Happy Thursday! :) Guess what? My lime tree is now BLOSSOMING! Yep! Check it out:

It also has lots of new growth!



Today I went out with the cinnamon and the aphid annihilator to ensure that there weren't any new invaders. There was some new growth, which did have some of the little buggers attached, but I did away with them, as well as putting more cinnamon around the base. Overall, the tree is doing nicely. :) As you see above, the buds are now blossoming, and it's so exciting to think that I actually kept this tree alive for a full year, and now it's happy enough to adorn itself with Spring's finest! :)

I also have a few other little seedlings in my home right now, alongside a nice and fat aloe plant, and an avocado tree that supposedly will never bear fruit. (It might if I grew another next to it, but I'll save that for after my garden is established, when I have a spare avocado pit and nothing else to do.) It's not exactly a garden fit for a self-sustaining expert, but considering that plants don't normally do well with me, I'm pretty impressed with myself. :)

I tried trimming some of the branches of the huge flower bushes that were already in place when we came to live here, but those things are TOUGH! I'll have to get some serious pruning shears to deal with that mess.... those, and perhaps a man to do the work. B-) Also, I have plans for many more seedlings, but of course, I'm still waiting on the seeds that I ordered. Apparently there was some mistake with our order, so it was cancelled, so we had to order again. I have two packages waiting at the post office, so hopefully one of them contains my seeds. :)

Stay tuned, because soon, Epiphany will have passed, Christmas will be taken down (boohoo!), and I'll be brainstorming for Valentine's Day. :)

A Few Plans for 2012

Well, happy (late) new year! I'm sorry to say that I've not worked on anything that I can really post, but never fear! I'm sure most of us have gotten a "whole lot of nothing" done this week. ;) I CAN tell you, however, that I did get a Pinterest account, and am already getting excited for Valentine's Day! I'm not exactly sure why, but for some reason, Valentine's Day has always given me this perfect vision of sitting warm on the couch, next to your honey, sipping hot cocoa and watching snow drift fluffily from the sky. That isn't to say that I've ever experienced this picturesque situation, and there's no way it's happening this year where  I'm located, unless Love has a surprise trip planned to someplace--dare I say it?--EXOTICALLY snowy. ;)

All this aside, one good thing about living somewhere warm is that I can already start working on my garden--I have already noticed buds on my lime tree--its first buds ever, I should add--and with that, have already battled ants and aphids. ;) What I did was combine veggie oil and dish soap in a spray bottle, and copiously spritzed the little monsters on a cloudy day. (If you do this when sun is directly on the plant, it will scorch the little guy.) I then sprinkled enough cinnamon powder around the base of the tree to make it look as though it's surrounded by reddish-colored dirt. The cinnamon keeps the ants from getting close enough to the tree to climb up, and since ants farm aphids, it seemed to be the best course of action. I did this right after Christmas, and as of two days ago, the tree seems to be doing much better. Of course I'll keep checking it; the last thing I need is for something to have survived and started making babies on my tree.

Just as a side note, of course I've also started planning the rest of my garden, because right now, the entire thing looks mostly like a waste land, save for the aforementioned lime tree and a brand new patio. I'm already growing peppers and exotic vine fruit from seed, and have ordered plenty more seeds of different varieties. I'm hoping to get the yard looking decent enough to hold a Cinco de Mayo party this year, which means that Love and I have a little bit of work ahead of us! Wouldn't it be perfect to hold our first ever Cinco de Mayo party in a garden with it's first crop of limes just beginning? :)

For now, however, here are two photos of my lime tree's buds! I hope they actually last and produce something that at least looks like lime babies this year.

I have other things planned for 2012 as well, obviously, but for now, these are first and most important on the list. What do YOU have planned so far for 2012?