New Life for an Old Cellar

This is our above-ground cellar.  It's been here a long, long time.  Slowly but surely it is 

losing the battle with rain, wind and time.  And I love it.  And I intend to enjoy it

til either it or I no longer exist! This first picture was taken 3 1/2 years ago in

the heat of summer, with Sunflowers standing tall alongside the little structure

and Morning Glories wrapping themselves shamelessly around

it and everything else within reach.

 Here the cellar is last Friday, March 23rd.  

No flowers to cover her nakedness this time.

The broken and missing pieces are clearly visible. Not as fun as the 

summer shot, but she still has a lot of character, don't you think?  

Now prepare for utter awfulness....let's peek inside....

Um...

 Oh....my.

Obviously there is something terribly wrong here.  

Turns out this sweet little building is a "hoarder"!  

Over the years she has collected old doors, windows, tools, dirt, straw, and an 

unbelievable amount of miscellaneous junk.  Time for an intervention...that's where 

a dear friend comes in.  I shared my dream of transforming this mess into a 

wonderful potting shed filled with my gardening tools, pots, bags of soil and mulch, 

and space to putter to my heart's content.  Where anyone else would have thought 

I was losing it, she got excited and pushed me to go for it.  In fact, she wanted to help.  

She saw the very thought of it overwhelmed me, but she would not be deterred. 

If not for her, I would still be dreaming of this transformation rather than sharing it.

Credit also goes to my daughter and sweet husband who shoveled and 

sweated right alongside me and my friend.

Isn't she beautiful?  Inside as well as out!  I have so much more I want to do - definitely needs a bit of color here and there. A screen for the window in summer and plexiglass for winter - that view is just too pretty to ever cover up completely.  A couple of pots of shade-loving plants will bring some life to her, and as she comes along, I'll share more pics.

Baby Toms Up!

Those who know me well, know that one of 

my ultimate gardening pleasures is seeing seeds germinate.

 

I never get tired of seeing the tiny threads of green raise their heads from the soil in search of light.  And it's so amazing to me to know that these tiny tomato babies will be standing as tall as myself in a few months, bearing fresh, juicy gems from my summer garden!

 

I've cut waaaayyyy back on the number of varieties I'm starting indoors this year.  I've got too many other irons in the fire to take care of more than I really need.  So my tomatoes this year, will of course be, my favorites: Green Zebra, Kellogg's Breakfast, and a cherry tomato I purchased at a plant sale - saved seed because we love this but don't have a clue what variety it is.  Oh, and one newbie - German Red Strawberry, from seed my sister saved and shared.

 

I hope to sow a few sweet peppers this week and that's it for my indoor seed starting this year.  Just can't give it up completely though - seeing these babies pop out of the soil is just too good a reminder of all the miracles that take place

around us every single day.

Happy gardening!

A beautiful beginning - 2009

Today was G-O-R-G-E-O-U-S!
And so what if it is the 2nd instead of Jan. 1?
I'm ignoring yesterday - today was much better!
The sun was shining, the breeze was mild, and I spent hours outdoors. It was perfect!

These luscious hot-pink flowers were a gift from my boss this holiday season. I just learned today, thanks to a website I found (www.flowersforums.com), that this is Cyclamen.
I'm disappointed they won't survive planting in my area, but with a little effort, maybe I can keep this as a houseplant with a little outdoor-time in the summer.

In addition to seeking an answer to the what-kind-of plant mystery, I tied up my Wisteria that had fallen over, mulched the kitchen garden beds with chopped leaves my son had dropped off from his yard and re-potted some aloe that had outgrown its last pot. The odds of many more January days in the 60s is pretty unlikely, so I made the most of it.