Spring Gardening ~ Breaking Out The Jadeite Thumb

My green thumb would probably be more of a pale shade of Jadeite, as I tend to kill more plants than I grow! I have had some luck with basic cooking herbs though ~ some in the kitchen window, and some in the (literal) bed of herbs I planted in the back yard a couple of years ago.

I plan on adding more lavender and a few other herbs to the bed of herbs this year ~ wherever the spearmint & peppermint haven't already taken over. Last year I was able to dry so many different types of herbs from my own garden, and even made my own goat's milk & lavender soap with some of the dried herbs. Seeing the fruits of my (not-so-laborious) labor is a great motivator to keep up with 'making the bed' outdoors.

I'm also trying my thumb @ growing my own tobacco (for decorative purposes, not for smokin') and already have some tobacco seedlings sprouting in a vintage glass trinket box turned mini-greenhouse...

We also gather dozens of Florida lemons & ruby red grapefruit from our 3 trees ~ some for squeezing & freezing the juice, and some for slicing & drying to make holiday potpourri and garlands in December.

Dried grapefruit slices + needle & dmc floss = rustic garland!

I'll also update the portable faerie garden plot in the next few weeks, as some plants have grown too big for fairies!

And last but by all means not least, I'll add some stakes for the 'I Love You Bean' beans which I got for Christmas ~ the plants have actually kept right on growing outside, in spite of my not-so-green thumb!