Planting flowers

Each spring (and fall), I get an overwhelming desire to plant flowers. But here's the thing ... I know nothing about plants. And, I'm really not a very doting plant mama. I do pretty well with humans, but unless you can scream, cry, whine, or flat out tell me, "I'm hungry/thirsty" you're pretty much doomed to shrivel up and die (seriously ... even my dogs have learned that they have to give me some kind of audible signal).

None of this prevents me from wanting to be a doting plant mama. Each spring I get all giddy at the first sign of color and tag along with my mom to the nursery where I point at plants and flowers, and she tells me whether or not they will work. Usually, we return to my house with a trunk load of plants that magically get planted while I'm busying myself with something else (I don't particularly like dirt).

Amazingly enough, my mom has not gotten tired of my lack of commitment. In fact, this spring, she decided that we would drive all the way down to Hilton Head to The Greenery (she says it's the best ... and from everything I saw, it is). This is not entirely unselfish of her since she love loves loves flowers and plants, and had been wanting to go down there herself. So, showing enthusiasm for my flowers meant that she had company for the hour drive.

Now, because of my general lack of attention to plant life, Mom has suggested that I stick with some kind of container plantings. Usually we do two large pots on either side of my front porch steps and hanging plants. But this spring we (Mom) decided to step it up and do window boxes! And, I got a Camellia Standard, which is breathtaking. And, I planted herbs. And, we added Dahlias. And I did most of the planting all by myself!!

OK, enough boring words. Here are some pictures!!!

We kept the pots on either side of the porch. This one matches the window boxes. The other one (which you'll see soon) contains my herbs. Don't ask me what's in here, because I don't remember. I just know that they like full sun.

My lovely window boxes.

The left window box.

And the right window box (yes, they're identical).

Dahlias in my front bed. They're one of my favorite flowers. I love the look of the flower and the name itself. Daaaahlia ... doesn't it sound pretty?

My herb garden: Basil, Italian Flat-Leaf Parsley, Lemon Sage, and Rosemary (I've already used the herbs twice in my dinner preparation).

The beloved Camellia Standard (which lives in my backyard because it needs some shade).

See why I had to get the Camellia? Aren't the blooms lovely? One just fell off, and I couldn't bare to throw it out, so it's floating in a vase in the house now.

Aren't ya'll proud of me for picking out such lovely plants and for planting them? Now I just have to keep them alive. Fortunately we have had bucket-loads of rain the past few days so watering them isn't an issue yet. Stay tuned for more updates (I hope they're good).

xoxo,