Main Street Mom Gardens

Seattle Dahlia

2010-08-09T23:43:00.001-07:00

Grandma has nurtured, staked and arranged many dahlias...this keeper is a summer reminder of that lady.

Stars over Alabama

2009-05-27T07:36:00.000-07:00

Much like some families choose Christmas ornaments to commemorate highlights of the year...last year EDC, 1 of 3 got this day lily due to being chosen for all-stars!

This was the first bloom of the season...we were delighted to consider its amazing detail and design.

I continue to marvel at the many varieties of Day Lilies! This time of year "consider the lilies, how they grow...."(Luke 12:27) comes to mind rather frequently! He cares oh, so much more for our provision. Our Creator God also our loving Heavenly Father.

Sharing the beauty....

2009-05-20T21:53:00.000-07:00

French hollyhock

Cone flower patch

My front yard...still a work in progress...

Pink Yarrow

Larkspur

"Spiderman"

"World Class Oddity"

"Alabama Jubilee"

"Crystal Sea"

Considering the Lilies........

2009-05-01T02:38:00.000-07:00

CONSIDER THE LILIES THEY DON'T TOIL NOR SPIN BUT THERE'S NOT A KING WITH MORE SPLENDOR THAN THEM. CONSIDER THE SPARROWS THEY DON'T PLANT NOR SOW BUT HE'S FED BY THE MASTER WHO WATCHES THEM GROW.
CHORUS WE HAVE A HEAVENLY FATHER ABOVE WITH EYES FULL OF MERCY AND A HEART FULL OF LOVE. HE REALLY CARES WHEN YOUR HEAD IS BOWED LOW. CONSIDER THE LILIES AND THEN YOU WILL KNOW.

MAY I INTRODUCE YOU TO THIS FRIEND OF MINE WHO HANGS OUT THE STARS AND TELLS THE SUN WHEN TO SHINE. AND KISSES THE FLOWERS EACH MORNING WITH DEW BUT HE'S NOT TOO BUSY TO CARE ABOUT YOU.

Never too late to plant these things!!!

2009-04-29T10:58:00.001-07:00

I received this e-mail from my mom today. Thought it was fitting to share it here.

How To Plant Your Garden

First, you Come to the garden alone,
while the dew is still on the roses...

FOR THE GARDEN OF YOUR DAILY LIVING,
PLANT THREE ROWS OF PEAS:

1. Peace of mind
2. Peace of heart
3. Peace of soul

PLANT FOUR ROWS OF SQUASH:

1. Squash gossip
2. Squash indifference
3. Squash grumbling
4. Squash selfishness

PLANT FOUR ROWS OF LETTUCE:

1. Lettuce be faithful
2. Lettuce be kind
3. Lettuce be patient
4. Lettuce really love one another

NO GARDEN IS WITHOUT TURNIPS:

1. Turnip for meetings
2. Turnip for service
3. Turnip to help one another

TO CONCLUDE OUR GARDEN WE MUST HAVE THYME:

1. Thyme for each other
2.. Thyme for family
3.. Thyme for friends

WATER FREELY WITH PATIENCE
AND CULTIVATE WITH LOVE.
BE SELECTIVE WHAT YOU PLANT BECAUSE
YOU WILL REAP WHAT YOU SOW.

2009-02-26T20:56:00.000-08:00

Oh, how I wish that I had pictures of my grandparents garden of years ago!
I share these and post them here to share some of my earliest recollections of gardening occurred at this location.

The photos here are of my grandmother's back yard. The family reunions and many picnic lunches enjoyed in that back yard are too many to count as would be the loads of laundry hung rather precisely on those clothes lines. The photo directly below is the view from the cherished breakfast nook.

Beyond the gate in the photo, was the site of my Grandfather's bountiful garden! The produce produced there was distributed far and wide, to be sure always with a Gospel message. My Grandfather loved his yield, but he never went anywhere without sharing with others his love of his Saviour as well as the bounty with which he had been blessed.

Some of Grandma's hydrangeas are the same lovely shade of lavender as her guest room. That guest room was always so very welcoming too. I only lived near Grandpa and Grandma for a very few years of my life, so we had the opportunity to visit them for a week or two at a time when we made it to Washington state. The guest room was our welcomed retreat after long days of visiting the aunts, uncles, and cousins...then returning to their home for board/ card games (usually in the aforementioned breakfast nook), supper and then the reading of Spurgeon's Morning and Evening. We would make the climb up the creaking wooden steps to the guest rooms to the most comfortable soft rosebud sheets. Such wonderful memories came flooding back upon receiving these photos. Thanks to my dear, Sis for getting them for me!

Our Southern Winter Roses

2009-02-05T19:37:00.000-08:00

Local Camilia bush...totally laden with "bloomage". I love these "winter roses"
I consider myself rather blessed to have 5 Camilias at my Main Street abode.

One of my most relaxing chores

2008-10-07T18:49:00.000-07:00

This most relaxing chore involves my love of yard work. I love mulching. It sounds crazy! I do.
There is nothing more pretty than a freshly mulched flower beds.

My mulching truck is a blessing!!!

An available pine straw source is a good thing!

The right tools are essential!!!

There is so much satisfaction to drive home with a truck full of beautiful fresh straw!!!!

Reminded me of Grandma Tweet's dahlias

2008-08-18T22:55:00.000-07:00

NC Gardens

2008-08-18T22:35:00.000-07:00

I have been told that this garden has been beautiful for the past 40 years. Seems like it is a community garden. I saw it earlier this summer. The crops were young and all the lines were perfect and clearly delineated.

Another pleasure of gardening...........

2008-08-08T18:15:00.001-07:00

The flowers in my window!!!!

My greatest pleasure of gardening..................

2008-08-07T22:42:00.001-07:00

Sing Happy Birthday To Me!!!!!

2008-07-29T17:59:00.000-07:00

No, not really my birthday, but that is what I said to the man that answered the phone at the equipment shop when my EJC told me to call to see if the sales department would be opened on Saturday!!!! Yep...it was time. It made more sense to buy a new one than replace an axle on a 15 yr old MTD! I cannot believe how much fun it makes mowing! I am an odd one....love my yard equipment!

The other favorite tool that I love would be my Mantis Tiller.I have had it for 2 years and this past week was the first time I tried out the edging attachment that came with it. I was impressed and left wondering why I had not been using it all this time!

I give both 5 stars!

Thank you, my dear EJC for the new mower and allowing me the self expression I yearn for in the garden!!! I love you for this and so much more!!!!

Herbs

2008-06-15T22:34:00.000-07:00

During the summer of '94 I was first introduce to the pleasures of herb gardening. I was working that summer as a caregiver to a former "President of the Garden Club (Lexington, KY)". The dear lady was in her 90's at that time. One of her nieces planted a herb garden for her. It became my job to keep it trimmed and well-kept. I fell in love! I do not remember now all of the herbs her garden contained. That summer I determined that some day I would have a herb garden of my own. I married in the summer of '96. I would dare say I had a herb garden by '97. In those early days, I only permitted herbs in that bed. Now I also have flowers mingled in as well. I like it better now. Gardening, like so many other things in life, evolves.

My number one rule in planning a herb garden would be accessibility. Plan your garden near your kitchen.

Most herbs can grow in "poor" soil. Just make sure your soil is well drained by adding some mushroom compost.

We are designated as zones 8-9. In our zone oregano, rosemary, thyme, lemon thyme, chives, parsley, grow even through the mild winter months. My pineapple sage and bee balm die back in winter and return in spring. Cilantro and basil I replant annually. I have had other herbs, but these are the ones that I use the most and these have grown the best for me.

For more information check out this link regarding herb gardens.

My Love of Gardening

2008-06-15T22:15:00.000-07:00

My love for gardening was imparted to me in my DNA I suppose. As long as I can remember I have loved flowers and food. My grandparents gardened. My dad, a pastor, supplemented our family income landscaping for others. My Grandpa Tweet was such an avid gardener....his garden stayed locked....seriously he locked it with a padlock! The grandchildren were allowed in by invitation only. He had the most plums and apples not to mention all the vegetables....Oh, how I remember his raspberries! To this day, raspberries are a favorite of mine. Now grandma on the other hand has always had beautiful flowers. I remember her making flower arrangements to place on the communion table at church. She also always had fresh flowers on her dining room table to greet their many guests.

I remember when I was probably as young 8 yrs old picking wild flowers and making arrangements of my own from the field behind the church my dad pastored in Michigan. During the time we lived in Michigan, I also remember us growing a vegetable garden with another family. Those summers we canned green beans, tomatoes, corn, strawberry-rhubarb sauce, I do know we stayed very busy helping mom. My folks imparted to me a love for gardening and the pleasure of watching things grow.

It's Alive!!!!

2008-03-28T08:49:00.000-07:00

This time of year as the winter chill comes more intermittently. I frequently get outside yearning to see signs of life. The Carolina Jasmine, Japanese Magnolia, and Ornamental Pear seem to be some of the first to show their awakening from the winter rest. This past fall I had planted 9 new Hydrangeas. So, of course, I kept making my rounds to those looking and hoping that they had survived the traumatic experience of being transplanted. Three of the plants' branches seemed oh, so, brittle and I had resigned myself to either rethinking my dream of our seating area being surrounded this summer of by their beauty, or preparing myself for spending money for their replacement.

Well, we have been out of town this week enjoying the pleasures of family togetherness during the boys' Spring break. Upon returning home I made my therapeutic walk through the yard. Upon seeing the little green leaves sprouting out on those "oh, so, brittle branches"...I exclaimed to no one but myself,"It's ALIVE!!!!!"

No sooner than the words left my mouth....my thoughts went to the joy that must have been felt by the followers of Christ when they discovered that their Saviour was risen!!!! It was a special moment for me reflecting on the validation of Christ and the triumph that he demonstrated and we see paralleled in nature.