Spring's Garden at My House

Sunflower's Spring Garden Architecture

For years I've welcomed the spring season by gathering up some seeds and throwing them in the general direction of the flower bed. Despite my airy efforts, some flowers and plants actually took hold, and managed to get enough water to provide beauty to my life during 2010.

At 56, I don't have a nimble back; I have chronic back pain. I take steriod injections when I can, and I have a presrciption of pain pills I take daily. It's not to get high--it's to get around. I realizes that med does adjust my energy level and personality, but then I'm bipolar. We aren't all like Charlie Sheen all the time. I heard Charlie was good at being romantic when it mattered it him. That's a bipolar thing too. We really get "in to" whatever it is we're "in to". Enough Charlie!

Sunflower's Garden Side Show and Circus

I harvested bird house gourd plants last year, settled in two large areas of cannas, and opened up an area by my patio as a free-for-all growing bed. It was green and thick, with all kinds of sunflowers blooming all summer. It became a jungle for my three cats. The bees loved it. I know for sure that spring has arrived this year because yesterday I saw a bee in my den hovering, then landing, then hovering, over a large colorful artificial sunflower I have tacked on the wall.

"Sorry my friend. No pollen here.
I've some honey in the kitchen, but that won't help you, will it dear?"

I spied on the bee until he finally fluttered back outdoors. Immediately thereafter I found some voile sheer material I had, and I tacked it over the patio door to act as a sort of screen. It blows in the wind, whihch is usually relaxing to watch. And I have a future decorating project to finish off more professionally later on. I have lots of "later on" projects about the house.

I grow colorful flowers to provide my local honey bees pollen on purpose, so I figure I've got a little karma about not getting stung. Also, I try not to be aggressive to any flying critters who pass my way. I kind of freeze for a minute at this point, though I may become a bit more nonchalant about being with bees and yard critters as the summer goes on. It's been a long inside winter. Sunshine gives humans vitamin D, and I know it makes me feel emotionally brighter
.

I wrote a long articles about the disappearance of honey bees a few years ago, and I learned people can help the bees.

You'll find that article at

Where Have All the Honeybees Gone?  (E) California's agriculture depends on honeybees to pollinate, but not enough . . . #1234322 by a Sunflower in Texas

Last year was one of my less productive gardens. I had flowers: sunflowers, baby's breath, some coleus, some elephant ears, one old giant rose bush, and cantaloupe that flowered but didn't bear fruit. I had one male pot plant, which flowered and got thrown away. It was a bad year for my grow it yourself situation. I've done better.

Lots of plants died from lack of water because we didn't get regular rain. 2010 was especially weird, weather wise, because we had practically no spring. Maybe we had ten days of transition, but it was summer hot in Texas in April last year. I didn't get the seeds started before it was too hot for them to survive. You can't really "baby" outside plants. My garden is based on Darwin's observations and conclusions. The best survive. So, I want to do a lot of seed planting in the next 7 - 10 days.

This particular Tuesday afternoon we have a bit of cloud overcast, the wind is gusting up to 30 - 40 mph or more at times, and the temperature inside and outside is 76 degrees. Spring began officially on the calendar two days ago. I'm spreading out my planting on purpose this year, a bit here or there every day, and taking some thinking to plan what I want to see. Many times it's been like three bags of sunflower seed in the yard over the summer. The striped sunflower birdseed at Petsmart makes a beautiful 6 foot plant when mature. I may contruct a maze or outside room of tall growing plants and vines. I've read of a kid's project to plant sunflower seeds in a box shape in the yard for a kid house. I'm just an older kid, and the cats will love it if the dogs don't break it down first. Yard project of the year. One more plant in the wall and it'll be--well, we'll see . . .

I ordered some interesting seeds over the Internet last fall:

Indian broom corn German Chamomile
Calendula Baby's Breath
Chrysanthemum Rosemary
Coleus Creeping Thyme
Sage