Getting Ready for Spring

Although is seems likes Spring arrived in early February this year... we are still waiting as Spring hasn't officially Sprung yet!

I know I should wait to buy flowers and plants since it could easily frost any day... and it will... 

But still, it is hard to say "no" to those beautiful flowers popping up in all of the stores.

A new store opened in Folsom called Green Acres.

Ah-mazing!

I literally had an extra hop in my step as I cruised the aisles.

Just dreaming of what could be this Spring-Fall made my heart burst full bloom!

But I have been good... I only bought one thing... well, my mom and dad gifted it to us actually 

(thank you Mom and Dad!!)

A Tulip Tree

Here's a picture of Ethan watering our new tree in his jammies and pirate rain boots

He begs to water it everyday.

Ummm... okay :)

My mom also bought us a bag of Peony Bulbs to plant.

It may not have rained much here, but she sure showered us with blessings!

Side Note:

I have added peonies to the list of my favorite flowers.

Every now and then I drill Mark on my favorite flowers.

Sounds a bit silly and maybe even high maintenance, but it's true.

{Hey, I'm not gonna set up my man for failure :)}

I did this ever since we were married... we would go to markets and flower shops and I would show him which ones were my favorite and then later when we'd pass them, I'd do "informal testing" (as they say in the teaching world) = pointing to flowers and asking what they are.

I know he's no dummie and "being a guy" wouldn't pass by me...

So if you ask him what my favorite flowers are today, he'd say:

Roses, Lilies (Stargazers and Calli lilies), Hydrengias, Tulips, and now, Peonies (although he might not have that one down just yet... it's a new addition)

If you ask him which flowers I hate, he'd say: carnations.

True Story.

Back to Spring Prep...

I planted a TON of bulbs in our barren veggie garden and wine barrels.

I'm a bit nervous about some of them... you see... I planted some bulbs I purchased in the Fall also... think they're still good? We'll find out!

I planted:

Tulips of various kinds

Paper Whites

Peonies

Freesias

Anyway, the point is to have my own flower garden so I can clip fresh flowers for the house

(that is if I can get to them before Ethan...)

Something else I did was finally put up wire along the fence for our berries to climb up.

Last Fall I bought a variety of berry plants and planted them along side the outside fence of our house. 

There is a huge drainage ditch that runs along the side yard so there is little room to plant anything.

My thought? Berry bushes are full/bushy, they add some green, and they are fully functional!

What could be better than picking your own blueberries, blackberries, boysenberries, and raspberries?

Mark drilled some bits of wood and screws in along the fence last Fall.

This week, I finally put up the wire, pruned back the plants, and strung 'em up!

While we were sick, my parents came to our rescue and helped with Ethan while we rested up.

While they were here, my dad took a trip to Home Depot and bought me the wire I needed. He also showed me how to prune the plants and clip them back so they bear fruit.

I'm really hoping my "Wager Genes" kick in and I secretly have a green thumb too! :)

Here's a picture of one of our raspberry bushes that bore fruit and needed pruning. You can see the greenery ready for this year's harvest!

I am happy to report - and admittedly a bit surprised - that all our berry bushes survived the year!

I know they're supposed to be hardy plants but... you just never know!

About half of them matured enough to where I could take away the bamboo sticks needed for growth support...

The day I strung up the wire was a particularly warm and sunny day (70 degrees!).

Ethan was down for a nap... I made myself some iced tea, listened to K-LOVE on my iPhone, and got to work! 

This is how the music followed me... in my pocket :)

So... we're getting there!

My hope, wish, and dream would be to make lots of homemade pies, smoothies, and other mouth watering recipes this year (in addition to a fresh and healthy snack).

We'll see what actually happens :)