Tuesday, May 20, 2008

Gardening? O-kay...

Dear Shayne,

Even though I come from a long line of avid gardeners, I did not inherit the gene. I don't really like to touch dirt or plants, sooo... yeah. Gardening = not the craft for me.

Despite this, I decided to try my hand at planting some things this year. Mostly as a semi-privacy screen on our back deck. And also for a little bit of green back there. Green is nice, right?

Three weeks ago, I planted some lavender in planters. Within four (four!) days, I had already killed one plant. I have a very powerful black thumb. So I went back to the nursery and they helped me plant a new one, showed me how to care for them, and voila! I've kept these babies alive for 10 days now! Go, me!

Here is one of the boxes (photo taken from our back door -- these are hanging on our deck rail):
Lavender: front

Here is kind of a crappy photo from the other side showing both boxes -- this is the side we can't see from the house, which is good because, um, can you see the sawed-off hockey stick I used as a shim in the planter to even out the pots? Yeah. We're creative problem solvers around here. It's not sexy, but it works.
Lavender: backside

Meanwhile, my other little gardening project was to grow catnip. From seeds. Hrm:
Catnip! Well, not quite.
(I've given up on that one.)

Apparently, they sell catnip plants [already started] at Petco, so I may have to re-try with that. My black thumb is too strong for seeds.

love,
kelly

6 comments:

Diane Gilleland said...

The lavender looks pretty in those deck-rail pots. And don't even worry about the catnip - growing things from seed isn't all that easy.

But the fresh catnip plants will certainly make your kitties behave entertainingly. I finally had to hang mine, because my cat got such a monkey on his back. Then he would sit under the hanging pot, staring and meowing. Okay, he had a problem.

kelly said...

Thanks for the compliment and reassurance on the plants, SisterDG.

Your description of your kitty's little problem made me laugh out loud. Our cats are indoor cats and I'm growing it outside, so everyone in our house should be safe. The problem may come about when neighborhood kitties realize I'm a dealer.

Castro Valley Farmers Market said...

Way to go with the lavender, Kelly - it looks really healthy!
As for the catnip, I would suggest watering it and covering it with plastic wrap. Leave it in the sun to create a humid environment... your seeds may sprout then.

Shayne said...

I have a black thumb, too. I've killed cactus, among other plants. And with the cats I have now, I don't think plants would work inside. Oh! I do have one of those cute little greenhouses from Ikea. I don't *think* they'd be able to kill that. Patsy is awfully clever, though.

Chris and I decided today that we're going to grow some herbs. Fun!

Victoria said...

The lavender looks pretty!
Do you have any room to plant directly in the ground, if so what about sunflowers? They are super hardy, fast growing and oh so tall and pretty!

kelly said...

Oooh! Sunflowers! Unfortunately, I don't think we have room for them -- most of our backyard is taken up by my trampoline.

I wonder if we could put them along the side of the house... hrmmm...