Here we go again:) -
1. Spring Gardening - ongoing...
The big project this month is the monster Bougainvillea - cut it way back.
The second big project is to clean up the Secret Garden and surrounding area. Ongoing ...
The last of the container gardening for this spring:
Pot up new Lavender and place in a partially shady spot - today. Hasn't happened yet, I keep getting detoured... - DONE!
Re-pot - fertilize, deep water two Lily of the Nile
ADDING -
Re-pot a peace lily. Thankfully I still have one more white 24-inch square pot so it will match the other two peace lily pots.
Re-pot - fertilize, deep water three Ironcross Begonias - well, this turned into a monster project of its own. Oh my!
These babies have exploded - multiplied on steroids - but worse - two of the pots were decidedly unhappy.
So now I have two huge planters instead of one - looks great though. One is already blooming the other will bloom in about two or three weeks.
Wait, there is more - a new hanging planter and three new 12-14in size pots.
... oh, and I still have two pots to actually re-pot, deep water and fertilize. - ALL DONE!
Source African Blue Basil.
Seed African Num-Num Basil, Indian Holy Basil, and Clove Basil - try to find spicy globe basil locally.
Select and seed some flowers and herbs from my seed packet stash - DONE!
Sand, paint, repair garden ornaments and trellis, fix two tables - buying paint and sandpaper today
Cut down plantain and three bushes in the back. - DONE!
Plant Sweet Almond near the ditch.
Throw out iron garden chairs or find someone to fix them.
Throw out old plastic garden chairs - setting them curbside today. Both the plastic chairs and two rattan/wicker sets were snapped up at the curb.
-DONE!
Reduce the number of plastic pots by two-thirds.
Discard more old garden crap - be ruthless! Ongoing - I'm getting my ruthless vibes in gear.
Hopefully - buy and install a replacement fountain and set up a replacement gazebo by the end of March.
2. Health
Two to three meatless dishes a week. Doing well with this one, we had a mushroom dish, salmon dish and awesome pan-seared scallops with garlic chives and lemon from the garden. Besides that I don't generally eat meat for my lunch - so all in all, a success.
But I think I will kick it up a notch and try for at least one all veggie dish a week.
- ON TRACK!
Track BP once a day. - FAIL so far...
Eat less and do not eat anything past six o'clock. This is a hit and miss, but all in all I'm satisfied with the results. This is not a diet, but simply an exercise to control and be aware of just what I am eating. I think I feel better when I don't continuously stuff my face. A break until breakfast seems beneficial.
- ON TRACK!
3. Creative - fun gardening projects - HAVING TONS OF FUN creating a kitschy Spring and Easter Garden Bed.
Make a small fountain.
Make a few sun catchers to hang in between the glass bottle wind chimes along the path. - WORKING ON IT!
Make one red, one green, and one blue bottle windchime to finish the bottle walkway. - FINISHED GREEN BOTTLE WINDCHIME TODAY!
Figure out a way to use the solar fountain and lights in a more creative way.
4. De-clutter
The damn paper tiger project - tackle one big box or stack a week. - FAIL -last week
Continue de-cluttering - everywhere. - YUP, I'M DOING IT with surprisingly good success.
5. Special project
Replace three lighting fixtures and one fan.
I am giving this a deadline of March 21.
6. Social
Call every one of my friends this month!
Get together with at least one friend. - SCHEDULED!
Have dinner with family - in or out - maybe grill in the garden.
We'll see how it goes...
Well, as you can see week one was all about the garden and food intake. This week I plan to keep up with the garden and the food intake again but start focusing on the paper tiger.
I have been de-cluttering in general, anything from furniture to small stuff, here and there, some beads, some project material, garden items, expired items and things like dried glue, dried paint etc. Success - about three items a day, sometimes five or even ten or more.
Still working hard in the garden - you can see progress now, but there are still some mammoth projects ahead. Slow and steady progress!
Creative projects are happening every day including several that were not on my list. Very happy about that!
The kitschy Spring and Easter Garden Bed(s) is something I used to do every year but haven't in five years and I really missed that.
I pick a garden corner/area and have fun turning it into an Instagram/Pinterest worthy colorful, creative and fun 'installation'.
This morning I scrounged the shed and the nether regions of the garden for doo-dads, ceramics, whatever whimsical kitsch and started using my easter bunny collection, a couple of colorfully planted spring flower pots and played for a couple of hours.
Tomorrow morning I'll finish it. Always fun to re-invent and re-use, creating something from nothing.
Yesterday I learned how to turn a bottle into an oil lamp on youtube - so now I can't wait to make four of them for our next party.
This is one project I've wanted tackle for a long time, but everything I found was either ugly or too difficult to do.
This one looks great, is simple, and is easy to do.
The bottle walkway I started has taken on a life of its own and blossomed into a full-blown art and plant display.
Loving it!
