Planting Season Part Deux: Herbal Endeavors

The weekend was good except we did get some storms and rain. We didn't get to go on a ride at all this weekend, but we did get lot's of planting done. Last year we planted a ton of stuff and nearly all of it came back. This year, we didn't need to plant as much, mainly just take care of our problem areas, which was where the plants that didn't survive were; the north side of the house and the south side. The north side gets a lot of shade and the south side gets a lot of sun, and although we planted accordingly, some things didn't do well at all. We have discovered, however that peonies do well anywhere so we filled in some places with a few more of them. I'm super excited because my Kwanzan Cherry tree is finally blooming! Every day there are new blooms :) It, like my lilac, is apparently a late bloomer. My neighbor's lilac is in full majestic bloom, and mine is just barely starting to show a few blossoms. Hopefully it will get with it soon. It smells heavenly when I walk outside though, so the nice thing about mine being slow is that I will have that scent longer ;) 

My neighbor's lilac

My lilac

Since dipping my toes in the pool of herb gardening last year, I have decided to expand this year. I planted Rosemary, Oregano, Basil, and French Lavender in pots. I placed mint on the east side of the back deck so that it can fill up that space every year, but now I'm seeing that mint can completely take over a garden, so maybe I should rethink that and put it in a container instead. Or move it somewhere by itself. My Orange Mint is in the process of coming back, so I don't need to replace that. They didn't have any Chocolate Mint, Sage, or Thyme but they are expecting some herbs in this week, so I will hit swing by over the weekend and check. I think I will get some dill and parsley, too. I don't use chives much, but lemon balm might be good, although I'm not sure what use I will have for it. Last year I mainly wanted them for their scent, but this year I plan on using them. And of course they do smell wonderful - especially the basil! I found some wonderful pins on Pinterest with lots of great information and ideas ;) I just wish I had a good place indoors to put them all for the cold weather. I basically have just one window, and it is right above a heater vent and about four feet away from the fireplace, which we use a lot during the winter months. It gets pretty dry right there, so I need to figure something out.

We woke up to a little surprise Saturday morning. Or, I should say, several very small surprises. For weeks now, we have noticed at least three pregnant cats in the vicinity and I have been hoping that they go elsewhere to raise their small ones. One of them decided to have her babies in a little corner of our yard where the original part of the house meets the familyroom addition - almost in exactly the same area as Mama Cat - and almost right in plain sight. The only thing hiding her was that the grass was a tad high there. Later in the day she moved them - underneath our air conditioner, which sets up on a base and is enclosed at the bottom so little ones can't get in. We are hoping that the need for the AC will hold off for a couple of weeks until she moves them again because we're certain that when it kicks on it will scare the living daylights out of them, and we don't want that. They can't all stay under there for very long - it's just not that big. This just happens to be the same cat that put her kittens briefly in the little well area last year first, before Mama Cat moved hers from our shed to under the house, if you recall. We call her Other Mama - yeah, we're original like that. I am noticing that Mama Cat is pregnant too, and bet anything that she plans on having her babies in the shed again. We will have to watch very closely when we take the dogs out - don't want any kitty tragedies in my yard :(

Anyway, all day while we were working we would keep tabs on the family living under our AC unit, trying to do our work without disturbing them. And while Hubby was a little put out that he couldn't mow near that area, he didn't complain too much. "Hey - there's some blonde-looking ones in this batch!" Gotta love a guy who puts off his need for yard maintenance for the good of a mama cat and her babies :)

 

wink-wink