Hard days work

This week I have been on spring break. It has been so much fun! We visited John's Pass, the beach, celebrated Ostara, and had numerous picnics. As most of you know, when you have children it's hard to get much of anything done that remotely resembles work. So Wednesday I asked my sister in law to watch the kids. Most people would have kicked back, read some magazines and caught up on their DVR. Nope, I am crazy, I gardened!I had a full 4 hours free and I put on my muddy sneakers, grabbed my wide brimmed hat, put on sunscreen and headed outside!

First things first, I had two blueberry bushes I bought a few days earlier that needed to be planted. I stopped at Home Depot and got some pine mulch. Blueberries like acidic soil, so I figured adding that along with peat moss would not only acidify the soil but help retain the water in my sandy soil. I got home and found the sunniest part of my back yard, right next to my other blueberry bush. I cleared the area of weeds and grass and dug a hole twice as wide and just as deep as the plant. I back filled it with garden soil, peat and pine mulch. The resulting planting was about 6 inches above the ground level and heavily mulched. I am excited because they are all three different kinds of blueberries, so they should cross pollinate well. Here is what the area looked like as I worked:

 Here is the area before I started ^^

 Got one in

 The hole for the second bush

 Second bush waiting to be planted

 Here they all are! The closest is the one I planted last year, the two further along are the new ones.

Hello plants!

I also surprised my husband and got him a gardenia tree. Yes, they come in trees! Along this fence seems to be the sweet spot for growing things. Everything grows here. Heck, we even have grass growing over here! So, here goes nothing with it. Here is what it looks like:

 Pretty, isn't it?

Ta da! All in a row, I hope they all live long and prosper ;) (star wars pun intended)

Earth Hour

Tonight is the 6th annual Earth Hour. At 8:30pm everyone is encouraged to switch off their lights in a united message about climate change. Last year alone 5,200 cities in 135 countries across the world participated. It brings attention to the fact that if we want to maintain a beautiful Earth with resources for future generations the change needs to be global, but it all starts locally. For more information visit the webpage for Earth Hour and see how you can make a difference. I know for one hour tonight I will be switching my lights off :)

UT's Greenfest

Every year for the past three years Chris and I have gone to Greenfest at the University of Tampa. It is actually where I bought my first plants (two gardenias and a jasmine) back in 2010 and made me want to garden. The gardenias have since died, but the jasmine is going strong! Here is a run down of how it went:

This year it was just as big and busy as ever! They had people selling everything from edible plants to planters to local honey. It was nice to see so many like minded people getting together and sharing stories, tips and ideas :)  Indiana had fun in the children's area, and Chris sat down with Piper along the water front and listened to the blues festival across the channel while I kept shopping. All and all a great day! Here is what we bought:

 This is the key lime tree that Chris saw and got star struck over! We had to get it- key limes are his absolute favorite!

This little guy is a pineapple plant! I can't wait to plant this sucker. The guy who sold it to me said they loathe rich soil. I was sold!

This is gardenia. Chris is not giving up on the thought of having a gardenia bush, bless his heart. I want to try adding pine mulch and coffee to acidify the soil around where it will go For now, it's staying in the pot though.

I finally got my meyer's lemon tree! Isn't it great looking? This one is staying in the pot as well. I may not plant it for a while. I want it to grow more, and need to find a good location to plant it.

We also got some thyme, chocolate mint, parsley, a emerald blueberry bush and a jewel blueberry bush. My hope is that when I plant them next to the blueberry bush I already have that they will cross pollinate one another. We shall see!

I plan on dropping the kiddos off with my sister in law on Wednesday, rolling my sleeves up, and getting dirty! Planting posts to follow :)

First harvest of the season

Hell everyone! Just wanted to stop buy and post a picture of the first harvest of the season: jalapeno peppers! These actually fell off the plant, so I am assuming they want to be eaten lol here they are:

Hooray!!!

Sad orange tree

As most of you know, I am a sucker for citrus blossoms. Having grown up next to two lots full of orange and grapefruit trees, these smells bring back many happy memories. I blogged extensively about it last year (read it here). This year, I have been watching the orange tree in my yard start to develop buds that would eventually turn into blossoms. Every morning I walk out to my car and eagerly await the buds to open. Alas, sadly, many of them just wilted before they even opened :(  I am sad to say that this tree is dying. Here is a picture:

As you can see, about half of the branches are dead. Chris cut off all the dead branches last year, and it looked pretty good, now it looks even worse. The bark is peeling in weird places. The oranges that come off of it are spotted black and taste bitter. And it has a lemon tree with HUGE thorns growing on the side of it. I think I may have an arborist come out and examine it. If it truly is dying we will pay to have it removed. No sense in having it possibly get a disease that may spread to other plants. I will keep you all posted on the outcome!

Sustainable Living Conference 2012

Have you ever been interested in sustainable living? Who doesn't want to make all of their own food, from fruit to eggs to grains? Want to learn more about local farms, planting your own garden, and becoming a more green member of our community? Then check out the Sustainable Living Conference 2012 at All World Farms this weekend. Leaders in the Tampa Bay Area in everything from farming to eating locally will be hosting classes, projects and seminars all weekend. Here is a link to the group's Facebook page. And here is a link to the schedule of events that day.

I am going to another event in Tampa on Saturday (Greenfest) and I am not sure how long that will take, but I am going to try my hardest to swing by. Hope to see you there too :)

Tour of flowers, and such

Lots of plants are starting to display their flowers this time of year, and my yard is no exception. I walked around today (baby in one hand, camera in the other) and snapped a few photos of the new life. Check them out!

This is my two beautiful jasmine bushes. They are finally getting some flowers, and the smell is like heaven!

This giant is my oleander bush. it is about 15 feet tall. It has white and pink flowers on it.

Here is the view looking up into the oleander. Gotta love Florida's skies!

Even the myrtle is slowly waking up

My apple tree! It is still getting some blooms on it.

Bird of paradise decided to end it's slumber and show itself

The holly tree is getting bigger, inch by inch

And last but not least, poinsettias we bought Christmas Eve from Kmart. They were the last ones left, and pretty dingy at the time. We only wanted them for one day. Here they are, almost three months later. Crazy plants!

That's all for now!