JULY GARDEN UPDATE

Hey guys! Just took a quick walk through my garden to see if anything was ready for picking and I think I found some blue ribbon material! Feast your eyes upon my enormous zucchini! It’s currently a little over 2 feet long and heavy! I’ve never seen one this big and I’m on the lookout for a competition to enter!

I also have some tomatoes, green beans, corn, bittermelon, cilantro and chives ready to be picked!

Here are a couple roses that went a little crazy after months and months of no rain. We finally had 3 days of showers!

I hope your gardens are doing well! Happy growing! 🌱🌹🌿🌺

FRUIT ASSASSIN FOR SALE!!

SO… I am putting my 3 year old daughter up for sale…no seriously.. my little ‘angel’ picked all of the young peaches off of my peach tree except one and then stood there smiling at me! She thought it was hilarious! I guess the culling lesson went a bit over her head, I mean she is 3 after all 😂… I’m still furious 😲😒😒 but she’s lucky that she’s cute, maybe I’ll consider keeping her.

The criminal escapes!

So anywayyyy in other gardening news, I have an apple on my tree! Only one apple you say? Well somehow I felt my little ‘angel’ also had something to do with this! Grrrrr!! 😒😒

The blueberries are ripening. She helped herself to the ripe berries yesterday. Thanks kid, such a great sharer!

The hubs and my 4 year old son tilled the soil in my raised bed and added supplements and eggshells.  I am so grateful for that because I still feel pretty blehhh. They did a great job with my micromanaging of course hehehehe!

They found a rogue tomato plant that must have sprouted from last years seeds, so they moved it to a safe place in the corner and it even has a cute little tomato on it already!

I’ve moved my seedlings outside to get used to the weather. At this time last year it was still freezing and as I write this its 90F!!😰

Once again I am trying my hand at herbs. I think they dislike me and things go awry and they always end up dead. Am I an herb murderer?!? *gasp* I just don’t understand it! I can keep difficult orchid species alive and prospering but I can’t keep basil alive!? BASIL!!! Come on Natasha! Get yourself together for heaven’s sakes!

I hope that the weather is lovely where you are and that you’ll be able to get out and garden soon! What are you planting this year?

Happy Gardening! 🙂 🍄🍄🍄

LEMON EVERYTHING!

My lemon tree is totally covered with lemons and no matter how many neighbors I share with or random people I meet on the street *don’t you judge me!*… I just can’t seem to use these bright yellow babies up fast enough!

Soooo I’ve decided to make every lemon recipe I have plus a few new ones! So be on the lookout for lemon bars, lemon meringue, lemon brownies, lemon chicken, lemonade *spiked of course* and many more!

Also if you have any lemon recipes please send them my way!

BEAUTIFUL ORCHIDS

Here are some more photographs I took at the International Orchid Show in Santa Barbara. I took so many it was hard to choose just a few to share! I hope you like them!

PHALENOPSIS

To me, Phalaenopsis orchids are the easiest to grow and flower. They like indirect light and changes in weather to form flower spikes and if cared for properly, their blooms can last for weeks!

I rescued this little guy last year. He was almost dead with just one leaf! After a little TLC and some fertilizer he is doing great with two branching flower spikes and tons of buds getting ready to open.

This coming weekend is the Santa Barbara International Orchid show, so my little guy will be getting some new brothers and sisters soon! I’m so excited!! Yayyyyy orchids!

Freesia, Clivia, Iris

Every year in early spring we go to Home Depot, Lowe’s and Green Thumb to replace our annuals. Last year I discovered the insanely perfumed freesia!The scent is amazing! Almost like a rose on steroids! I bought 4 plants and I planted them near my front door so everyone could smell them while they came up the driveway.

I also wanted them planted there because that’s where I love to sit or have my evening tea. My hubs bought a falling apart bench and he totally refurbished it and even got me a fancy pillow 🙂 But the best part was the price! He paid $5.00 for the bench! And now I have a comfy place to sit and read or play Hay Day and Candy Crush * don’t judge me*, and the best part is the smell of freesia in the air, which I think smells like heaven!

Clivia is another favorite of mine because of the shocking orange color! It reminds me of home in the Caribbean and the bright blossoms that can be found almost anywhere.

My faithful Iris returns every year bringing forth more flowers each time. The amazing blue-purple with a bright spot of yellow contrasts so beautifully and stands out in my front garden. I just wish its flowers would last all year long!