The first tomato is here!

It's here, it's here!  It's finally here!  My first ripe tomato!!!  Without further ado...

It's beautiful, isn't it?  Sorry that everything but the tomato is in focus...again small screen=can't see what the true picture will be.  So just take another picture, you say?  Normally, I would have, but my parents ate the tomato last night in their salad...lol.

I've picked two more tomatoes since this one.  Maybe I am cut out to be a farmer after all!  Though I did cry a bit yesterday when I saw that there was a little blister on my finger.  It was really sore!  Okay, so I was kind of being a baby about it.  In my defense, I have delicate girlie hands!  I even put sunscreen on the backs of them to prevent wrinkling and premature hand aging from the sun....but my sunscreen regimen is a whole other post in itself.

Cheers to Formaggio and Fettuccine for all their hard work!  Here's to a bountiful crop of future tomatoes!

Today on 'As the Garden Grows'

We return with our usual cast of characters...

First up, the growing competition between the tomato twins.  Who will be the victorious winner of first ripe tomato?  We'll just have to wait and see.  At this point they're neck-and-neck with 7 tomatoes each.

Fettuccine is growing strong.  Pretty much busting right out of her bird block wrap.  She has a sweet pair of tomatoes and wants to flaunt them.  I mean if you have them, then why not right?

Formaggio is also getting quite large in size.  All that fertilizer loading is really doing her some good.  She also has a few tomatoes and wants to flaunt them...just not as badly as Fettuccine.  She's the more reserved twin.  (It took a lot of coaxing to get that second picture.)  Let's just say that Formaggio is a little bit more of the "Hello Sports Bra" type rather than the "Hello Bombshell" type.  Hey some of us are a little more shy than others.

Finally the flower bed.  Kind of a Monet if you know what I mean.  ("From far away it's okay, but up close it's a big old mess."  Clueless, anyone?  There I go dating myself again.  Yes I loved that movie and I still do.  Yeah I said it!)  In the flower bed's defense the house was recently fumigated, so gas fumes+dog trampling= dead flowers.  Needless to say she's in the ICU on growth hormones for now.

Oh the suspense!  Tune in next week for more on 'As the Garden Grows'.

You could be a farmer in those clothes!

The "gardening experience" can be a little much at times...such as when I've "ran" to the hardware store for the third time in one day or when a huge black bumble bee chased me through the yard!  (I still can't get that buzzing sound out of my head.  Also, I find that I am constantly looking for him every time I step outside.  I know that I am bigger than him!  Irrational, yes, but aren't we all?)

So as promised, here are the up-to-date garden photos:

These are the flowers that I first blogged about.  They are growing nicely....or at least the part closest to the camera is.

 This part is all full and healthy!  Looks like a real flower bed should.

This part, on the other hand, looks like poop!  How could this happen?  How could flowers growing in the same flower bed look so totally different?  Same amount of water, sunlight, and love.

This is how.  Meet my Mom's dog, Reese.  Reese is a strange one.  He likes to blend into the background.   He likes to blend so much that he hides in the bushes near this flower bed.  (It actually took me a good ten minutes to get this picture.  He was hiding in the bushes and I had to pull him out.  Then I got this look...lol.)  In order to get in or out of his favorite hiding place, yup you guessed it, he walks through my flower bed!  Some times I see him just standing in it!  Just standing there oblivious to the fact that he is trampling my flowers.  It's a good thing your cute Reesey...

Anyways...

Yesterday I was busy re-potting tomato plants and a few herbs.  They were getting too big and needed more room to spread out.  I think that I waited a little too long because when I took them out of their original pots their roots were showing so much that they took on the shape of the pot.  I think that they were getting ready to find their own new pot...lol. 

So here are my supplies: Miracle Grow potting soil that feeds plants up to 6 months I think (pretty good since I forget to fertilize all the time, plus it makes them grow to monster size), new pots, tomato cages, and the gardening gloves that always turn my hands orange.  Note: If anyone finds a cute pair of pink gardening gloves that don't have lady bugs, flowers, or anything that screams "I'm a crazy cat lady with no friends", please let me know.  I'm getting real tired of orange hands and I deserve to look cute while gardening, right?

Don't wear jeans to garden in unless you want to look like this.  Valuable lesson learned.

 This is me hard at work.   It was really hot yesterday and this is post running from the bee.

Here's everyone in their new pots!  Happy as can be. :)

Me after everything is done.  Hooray!

Flirty Little Flowers

In the spirit of Earth Day (which is tomorrow people!)...and because my Mom told me to...I spent my 'down time' (aka. nap time for the kiddies at her daycare) today planting her new flower bed.  I'm not going to lie.  I'm not one of those people who loves to get dirty and sweaty, especially not sweaty, outdoors.  I like the idea of gardening, but am in no way a gardener.  The closest I get to gardening is going to the farmers market and buying locally grown produce...lol.

Don't get me wrong, I've tried...but the poor plants usually die a slow and painful death.  I've over-watered, under-watered, forgot-to-water, over-sun exposed, under-sun exposed, etc., etc.  many plants to their untimely deaths.  So as far as I am concerned, gardeners who can get plants to grow for any large chunk of time must possess magical powers.

But look!  I did it!  The rows of flowers even seem to look straight. :)  I planted impatiens.  Partly because the name (Haha to the play on words there) and partly because they are supposed to be easy to grow...we'll see about the latter.  Also, they are dirt cheap!  At only $0.89 each, if they pass on to plant heaven I won't feel so bad.

Okay time for a close up.  Look how cute they are!  So springy and fresh looking.  Plus they come in a ton of shades of pink!  My kind of flower.

Here's a picture of my hand, excuse the pastie whiteness it's been awhile since I've seen the beach, to prove that I really planted them.  My fingers are orange from the gloves I was using...lol.  I'm actually surprised that there are no ink stains on my hand from stamping.

Hmmm...if this flower bed works out, maybe I'll consider trying to garden again.  I really want to grow a veggie and herb garden.  (I must confess that I do have a rosemary and oregano plant right now.  Thanks Teri's Dad!)  Fresh veggies and herbs make the best dishes!  If I take up gardening I'll most certainly need a pair of wellies to garden in, right?  I did have my eye on a pair of Dooney and Bourke wellies.  If I want to be successful I'll have to have the right tools!