Gardening, Sewing & Rambling

Marigold sprouts Calendula sprouts in L's garden Wind rushing through my columbine plant Is this our peppermint? Or this? My new babies! A rare and very welcome sight

I have been doing some major rearranging and decluttering in the children's playroom which resulted in a temporary new home for one half of our playstands. Little L is quite happy with the new set up. He instantly filled the playstand shelves with his toys. Something very exciting will be going up in the playroom once I am finished and I can't wait to share it with you!

Our garden is finally starting to sprout and the children can hardly contain their excitement. Little L runs out at least five times a day to check on his sprouts. He'll usually come running back into the house grinning from ear to ear exclaiming that there is another new sprout (since the last time he looked maybe an hour ago).

Our chickweed still hasn't sprouted and I am beginning to wonder if it might not at all. We were really hoping to have fresh chickweed for the recipes included in our current Herb Fairies book (Stellaria, the chickweed fairy) but if all else fails, we'll try again next spring. We did finally turn our chickweed/calendula/comfrey infused oil into an herbal all purpose salve today. So that counts towards a chickweed lesson, right? Oh speaking of Herb Fairies, look at that gorgeous mug C won through a giveaway on the Herbal Roots blog. I would love to be able to make such beautiful artwork!

While on the topic of gardening - my family and I have been doing a little bit of plant rescuing. There is a neighborhood close to us where everyone has been moved out and the houses are being torn down. The children love the playground there so we are still going while we can. A few nights ago the girls noticed some plants that the previous residents left behind in their front yards and asked if we could bring them home. Since the plants will just be killed we thought I was a good idea. K said it was our latest form of rescue. I love how she thinks. My favorite plant that we rescued was a columbine. I was anxious for a few days after we brought it home and planted it in a pot because it looked like it wasn't going to survive. Thankfully it was just transplant shock and it quickly recovered. I love peaking out my door and seeing those beautiful flowers swaying in the wind.

I have also become a tad bit obsessed with bringing the outdoors in and covering our home in as many houseplants as I can manage. I haven't been keeping many houseplants the past few years because our cats kill them all but I am hoping that if I hang them high enough, they will survive. Wish me luck! I have mostly succulents to start with but am hoping for more that really purify the air, including spider plants.

I am playing around with the triangle shaped scraps from C's birthday quilt and thinking about more pillows. I am not sure if I like my current idea or not. Maybe I need to rearrange the triangle so the colors go better? I don't know. Or maybe just start all over with a new idea.

Wishing you all a wonderful Memorial Day weekend! We are looking forward to some good quality family time.  I hope that whatever you have planned, it brings you happiness and joy! See you next week.

love,
Nicole

p.s. - I am horrible at identifying the different varieties of mint. We bought a pot with peppermint and pineapple mint in it (or so it was labeled) but now which is which? Can you tell??

p.p.s. - If you haven't seen this book, you have to check it out right away. Such a great children's book bringing awareness to the importance of our honeybees!

Gardening, Sewing & Rambling