Outdoor Times

Impatiens and Begonias waiting to be planted

We've been spending a lot of time outdoors these past few weeks. Every April I become quite an optimist when it comes to planting and our garden. Sadly, by August, defeated by the heat and attacking plums (that are flavorless and plentiful), I just give up and hope that everything in the yard hasn't completely died beyond recovery for the next year.

This year, Matteo has really enjoyed the process of planting and watching sprouts grow from seeds so there is hope that my little gardening buddy will keep me motivated. Please indulge me as I take you on a tour of our yard and what we've been doing :).

Our porch windowsill egg sprouts are happily showing some life

We soaked these seeds a few weeks ago....

...and here they are sprouting!

Matteo wanted a wheelbarrow so that he could help me in the yard. So far he's done an amazing job of moving gravel from one area of the house to another :}

This is the inside of our "green shack". I hesitate to call it an actual greenhouse since it seems like such a fancy name for our little growing shed. We'll put more shelves in next year as we become more proficient at starting plants from seeds.
I rescued these succulents from a neglected cactus garden I tried doing a few years ago and am hoping that they'll do better on the deck with more care. (Who knew you could actually kill a cactus? I thought they were indestructible like cockroaches.)

And here are where the kids play when they're tired of gardening with mama :)...

Some stumps I retrieved from a tree removal in the area. When the boys were younger, the stumps served as an obstacle course. Now they like to move them around to look for roly polys.

This is "le petit maison"

I think that our yard will be a work in progress for years to come. The former owner, bless his heart, LOVED concrete and so our yard is almost entirely paved over. All the vegetables will be planted in big barrel containers when they're ready and I have a few small beds for flowers. Despite that, we feel pretty lucky to even have our own outdoor space here in the Bay Area, so thank you visiting our little patch of earth :)

Happy Planting Everyone!