Herb This » Spring

Countdown to SPRING

Sheryl — Wed, 05 Mar 2014 22:00:21 +0000

Here on the east coast, we’ve been getting hammered by snow and polar vortexes this winter. I’m getting sick of seeing white (and gray) everywhere, and we are all definitely ready for sunshine and some warmth.

14 days till SPRING!!

Not that I think we won’t still have snow on the ground by then… but we can see the light at the end of the tunnel! And SPRING FORWARD clock change this weekend, which means more daylight after work. WOO HOO!

Live countdown here

A little spring in my step…

Sheryl — Tue, 26 Mar 2013 03:16:07 +0000

Ok, ok, it’s been really way too long.

Let’s get everyone up to speed, shall we? So last post I had was tracking Hurricane Sandy (well, I guess it was technically Halloween, but I’m pretty sure I actually wrote that one a few weeks ahead of time) and although we lucked out with no damage to our property or surrounding area, we lost power for 7 days, and internet for about 10. Then, it got cold. We had just about wrapped up for the year anyway — as made apparent by my lack of posts. To be fair, too, I was also in Germany for 10 days prior to the hurricane, pretty much leaving most of the month of October unaccounted for, and November was shot with the power outrage, then there was Thanksgiving, Christmas, etc., and then it was full out winter. My husband was awesome enough to clean up our community garden plot without me, too, to close out the season.

A couple things I missed..

Happy 2013 – this is going to be a fabulous year! Had a rough start but ready for it to turn around.
Happy 1st Birthday to Herbthis.com! March 1st 2012 was my first post. At this point last year, we already had a ton of really nice days that made me ready for planting. This year, the cold weather has kept me a bit in hibernation.
First day of spring equinox 2013… YAY! We had a decent enough winter this year that I hope will bring the bugs back in check for the upcoming planting season (because seriously, last year was just ridiculous). I’m seriously ready for some nice weather though. Really hope all the snow is behind us now.

At the beginning of the month, I was in Germany again for work, and my hotel had these awesome samples that just kept staring me in the face reminding me of what was ahead (and it was gorgeous weather, too)! ”Pure Herbs” smelled so good. I took a few bottles home with me!

And finally, for the big reveal… I’m finding out first hand (or belly) just how much fun it is to ‘grow stuff’.. my husband and I are expecting our first child over the summer! So, that explains why my husband did the clean up himself this fall — I was newly pregnant and utterly exhausted just from existing.

This year, we are still planning on community gardening– we’ll probably go a little simpler with the tried and true veggies, but might be light on the posts and creative thinking at times. Also, nothing crazy in the yard, just clean up & maintain, maybe a couple minor improvements.

Before the winter break, I did discover the fabulous world of Pinterest where I have an “herbthis.com ideas” board, which I am hoping to be able to test out over the summer — at least the simpler ones!

Alright, now that I have kicked off the planting season for 2013, I should get some of my seedlings started (I”m already behind — I need to get the tomatoes & peppers in THIS WEEK!!!). Unfortunately, that is going to have to wait until tomorrow — time for sleep.

Happy spring & happy planting!

Spring has almost completely sprung!

Sheryl — Mon, 11 Jun 2012 23:36:24 +0000

As the days get longer, we are nearing the summer solstice, and spring is almost over! I have a lot of ‘spring’ posts still to write so I should really get crackin! It’s also probable that some of those posts will be slightly outdated with the pretty flowers in the pictures actually laying as puddles of petals in the yard. I will make that a goal next year to make the posts more real-time, and document when things actually bloom.

Early Spring Blooms

Sheryl — Fri, 30 Mar 2012 16:00:32 +0000

So you already know that the daffodils have arrived, but what, do you ask, are the other early spring blooms in my garden?

The pristine primrose — seriously, they look fake, right?

Pretty purple flowers from the ground cover that I’m still working on finding the name for (please ignore the leaves, this was taken pre-spring clean up)

Flowering Forsythia

And newest addition – Mini Daffodils of my very own!

Now I need to find a good spot to plant them!

I’ve also been falling in love with the the trees around town: flowering dogwoods and red maple trees, and an interesting, almost sprawling tree that has gorgeous pink flowers. After a quick search, the really cool one I think is a crabapple tree. I’m not a fan of having fruit trees in the yard because my dog will eat them and get sick. However, I learned there are hybrids available that don’t produce fruit. I’m considering either a hybrid crabapple or red maple to replace one of our old, dying trees in our front yard. I’ll continue to research and maybe next year we’ll get to it.

Plant that seed!

Sheryl — Fri, 16 Mar 2012 10:00:00 +0000

I found this great website that sells every seed imaginable. After being limited to the Home Depot selection, this seemed like a dream come true.

http://www.swallowtailgardenseeds.com/index.html

After I had about 20 different seeds in the shopping cart, I realized I had a problem. This blog has been feeding a growing obsession that I haven’t figured out the limits for yet. I’m very excited to grow things and share it with the world (I think still mostly my nearest & dearest — thanks guys!) but need to realize there are limits and I have no intention of turning my house into a green house and my yard into a fully functioning farm — and even those have space (and time) limits.

Time to really assess the space I have, the seeds I’ve already purchased, the amount of time I have, and start to focus on how to best utilize them.

I did purchase some vinca seeds to grow, but that’s it!

And, also, an exciting new herb I heard about called Lovage — but really, that’s it!

Almost spring…

Sheryl — Fri, 02 Mar 2012 03:45:32 +0000

I thought March 1^st was appropriate to share my first post with the world – or more likely, my nearest and dearest. March is the month that holds the Spring Equinox (in the Northern Hemisphere anyway), and when we start to find that perfect weather balance – not too cold, not too hot – while winter still tries to intimidate us with the chance of a major snow storm to foil our plans!

Daffodils sprouting

Chives coming back

Rhododendron budding

Take that, Winter! I’m not scared of you. SPRING IS COMIN’!