Composting...

Last weekend I amended my garden with my very won compost for the first time since I started the compost bin last summer. The compost bin seemed to be doing well since I discovered tomatoes and squash both growing from it.  I figured that was a good sign it was ready. So I popped the bottom trap door for the first time and discovered the most precious, most amazing black gold I had ever seen. Why was it soooooo amazing....well simple silly....because I HAD MADE IT!!

Anyway, I threw a couple of buckets full into the garden before throwing the starts in and well...I am sold...this stuff is the best! If you haven't done it yet...start a compost bin, it will AMAZE your plants and make them super happy.  Needless to say, the pathetic little starts that I feared would not survive the transplant....are thriving in the newly amended compost garden. YAY COMPOST!!!

Today is Mother's Day. Did you notice? Did you tell your mom how much you love her? Send her flowers maybe? I called my mom and wrote on her Facebook wall (I know, cheese). My step-mom didn't answer her phone so I left her a message. And my "mother-in-law" (that's in quotes because her son and I aren't "legally" married) I created a planter box and gave her a card. I know...seems like I did more for her than my own mom but in reality it was just proximity. If my mom had been closer and not in Denver, she would've gotten one too. As it is, it was too large to ship. ;-)   Anyway, I bought a standard issue wooden box, painted it black and stenciled it with pretty flower stencils then put a trellis in and some star jasmine, some little yellow native Oregonian flowers and some purple grass. All in all, I think it turned out spectacular! I want to create one for myself actually...and I just might at some point.

In the meantime, I painted some terra cotta pots the same black and used the same stencils and I will use them to create my flower tower near my bird bath. Which is also still a work in progress. I should post pictures, huh. Ok, ok...twist my arm. Here come some pictures at ya!

The new garden fence and arbor. This will all look MUCH cooler when there is new ground cover in the front and veggies all green in the garden.

The Mother's Day planter box.

Flower detail

My new pots...these will also look much cooler when they are in place as a tower and planted with pretty flowers....promise!