the garden

My mom has always kept a gardening notebook through the years, to jot down notes and ideas for the garden she keeps with my dad. It's a small green (or is it yellow?) notebook that she fills with lists of what they planted each year, tiny sketches of where they planted everything, and tips for the next year. I've always loved paging through it and have decided to keep my own for our garden this year. Or, at least, I'm trying to. Right now my notebook contains a list of what to buy from the nursery that I wrote earlier this Spring, and the warranties for our boxwoods and rose bush tucked into the back pages. It's sad, but it's a start, eh?

In case you're curious, here's a list of what we planted this year, that I plan on writing down, with a pen, into my notebook. Sometime. Eventually.

3 rows of lettuce: butter, and romaine, for salads and sandwiches. Eh. We're not that impressed, and will try for a crispier variety next summer.
2 green pepper plants: for stir fry! Or stuffed peppers! Mayyybe salsa, if we can grow more than three.
1 row of green beans: for tossing with salt, pepper, butter, and lemon juice. And for freezing, when we're desperate for something fresh-tasting in the middle of January.
1 row of sugar snap peas: for picking and crunching into while lazily watching Ralph make tracks around the lawn with his tiny lawn mower. See also: stir fry! Note for next summer: don't plant them near the fence, because bunnies.
3 cucumber plants: bush pickles, actually. Extra crunchy and sweet, with small seeds. Perfect for pickling, and midday snacking, and drenching in bleu cheese dressing.
1 zucchini plant: for sweet zucchini bread, and that one dish with onions and tomatoes and basil and olives and cheeeeese.
3 tomato plants: my favorite. for stews and soups and sauces, and most especially, slicing and slurping.
1 cherry tomato plant: for the pop! factor.
1 strawberry plant: for, let's face it, the birds. We've managed to snag two that hadn't been pecked. Note for next year: some sort of cage?
Honorable mentions: my sweet herbs, sage, oregano, parsley, chives, rosemary, and mint. You have some work to do, dill and cilantro. You too, thyme.

Now tell me what you're planting! I love this stuff.

peonies, please

 Flowers are so fashionable right now, aren't they? It seems silly, since flowers have been wonderful and beautiful and around since God said, "Let there be flowers." But all it takes is one look at Pinterest to know that every woman needs to wear a flower crown while strolling through the farmer's market to pick out a flowery bouquet that she can carry around in her straw bag, and then maybe a couple mason jars to keep the flowers in when she gets home. 

The internet has made me believe that I need all of these things.

So, when I was walking through the yard a few weeks ago and noticed some tight round buds that just happened to look like peonies growing along the back corner, I was like RAISE THE ROOF. Because peonies are probably the most fashionable flower there is right now. There I was, right on trend, and I hadn't even had to do anything.

It was then that I became obsessed with the peonies. There were eleven of them, closed up so tight, and with big black ants crawling all over the top petals. I checked on them multiple times a day. I talked to them. I adored them. I waited and waited and waited for them to bloom.

And then they did. One by one, the petals opened to reveal the prettiest, most lush flowers I had ever laid eyes on. I loved them. So sue me.

I thought about leaving them to grow and open and last in the yard, but I couldn't resist snipping each one and taking them inside to put in a vase. ("I need a vahhse? A vase? A vahhse?" Name that movie!) And then of course, I had to take their picture.

And I'm glad I did, because they lasted all of two days.

Until next year, peonies. I'll be waiting for you.

how does your garden grow?

No, really, how does your garden grow? Do you have any tips?

All winter long Ryan and I talked about starting a garden. It was the thing we looked forward to most during those cold days filled with more darkness than sunlight. And now winter is over and spring is here and we're ready to plant!

I have visions of a lush English garden, with grey-green grasses, and lavender, and herbs. In my head I'm wearing a wind-catching sundress and a floppy hat, snipping blooms with my antique shears and dropping them into a straw basket. RECORD SCRATCH that's not how things are going. It's more like I'm sweaty, wearing muddy tennis shoes, and frantically pulling out dead branches and weeds before Ralphie wakes up from his nap. Things aren't quite so romantic as I'd like, but it's fun work all the same, and a different kind of exercise that makes my body feel tired in a good way. I may not have the English garden of my dreams yet, but today I discovered that we have a flowering tree, and that's something I've always wanted. We're getting there.
Over the weekend the boys and I hit up the nursery. Lots of herbs and four little boxwood bushes came home with us. We're still waiting to see what will happen with the plants already in the yard, but I'm thinking most of it will come out and make way for new things that we pick out ourselves. The vegetable garden is going to be put in one of these weekends-- lots of tomatoes and beans and cucumbers and peppers. Ryan is working hard on the weedy lawn, and Ralph is working hard on figuring out what exactly grass is, and if he should taste it.

So, spill it. Do you have any gardening tips? Any favorite perennials? I'm all ears!

And while we're at it, any favorite baby sunscreens? I've gotta protect those pudgy white limbs you see there.

the first sunny days of spring

Well whaddya know, Wisconsin decided to put on its sunglasses and catch up with the rest of the country. Temps have already hit the 80's and we are soaking.it.up. The past couple days have been filled with every
warm weather activity we can get our hands on. First up: the swings. The swings are Ralphie-approved, and the string of drool that hangs out of his mouth every time he gets in one confirms this.
Strolling until the baby falls asleep has been a fun activity for me. It allows a little time all to myself outside-- good for browsing magazines, making lists, and admiring fat baby rolls.
And naps in nothing but a dipe, with the windows open, somehow make this kid sleep longer than ever!

But the best part of all of this nice weather? Parkin' it on a blanket in the backyard and watching Ralph figure out what life is like outside of the house. A happy baby with dirt under his fingernails and grass stains on his white onesie-- I dreamed about this all winter long! Putting that baby to bed and having enough minutes of light left in the sky to stroll the backyard with Ryan is the cherry on top. This summer is gonna be good, guys.