a garden-y day...

much of today was spent working in our backyard, which is becoming more and more lovely as the date of lucy's party grows closer. jeremy has been laboring nearly non-stop getting things looking nice--after all, we're planning on around 50 people, many of whom have never been to our home before. things just weren't up to par for a first-time impression!

i went out today and bought quite a few plants, making sure that each and every one was labeled "drought tolerant," since we are indeed smack in the middle of a drought. after we get these into the ground, we'll be following up with lots and lots of mulch. we've never used mulch before and are hoping that it really will help us save enough water (and keep the plants looking nicer) to offset the cost. also planned is a drip system for areas that won't get a lot of attention water-wise. the goal is to keep everything living this year (which we've not had much success with in the past) so that next year, there won't be so much work when spring arrives. 

in addition to the decorative plants that i purchased, i also started buying things for our vegetable garden. have i mentioned that we're putting the garden in the front yard this year? i have kind of mixed feelings about this plan--i like that we'll be kind of setting a good example in our neighborhood, but i also worry about the possibility of people making off with our crop. oh well, there's usually more that enough to go around, right?

on the list so far are a few different varieties of heirloom tomatoes, zucchini, watermelon, eggplant and butternut squash. i think there was something else, too. no peppers yet, i want to make sure i get all of these others into the ground first, and see how much room we've got leftover. i also started my pumpkin seeds today! on a tip from one of you wonderful blog readers, i planted them directly into little eggshells. i have never seen this done but it seems like a great idea--i'm assuming that you can plant the eggshells directly into the ground when the time comes?

in planting those tiny pumpkin seeds, and also in some of the snapdragons i bought today, i got to use some of this winter's compost. i'm always amazed at just how our garbage turns into such beautiful, rich dirt with tons of little buggies and wormies in it. honestly, it's not gross at all, even for this valleygirl, and it doesn't stink. we've got a copious amount of wonderful, fresh dirt at our disposal for free--all thanks to composting. which really takes zero effort, i have to say, especially in the winter when nature does the watering. we hadn't even turned our pile since last summer, until about a week ago. 

when i was first getting started in composting, i found this blog  really informative and interesting. i haven't followed it in quite awhile, but in checking back i see that lots of ads have been added to the site, which might be a little annoying, but if you're looking for good information, this blog is a nice place to start. 

i hope to post pictures very soon of our garden once it's, you know, in the ground and stuff. and of course of my little pumpkins in their eggshell houses, too, once they get to sprouting! what are you growing this year?