Where have I been?

I'm not exactly sure why I have not blogged or started the garden yet. It is now March and I am still in the contemplation phase? I guess the disappointment of my beautiful hydrangeas has left me a bit scared. It's like I have this fear of killing a whole new batch. Every time I pass the front lawn I look over that side of the yard and I feel like I can't accept what happened. I tried my best and it still failed?! Well as with life I need to move on and pick myself up. First I must clean the area and then I will try something different start from the foundation and test the soil. The sun has been shining and I think it is calling me back to the garden. I remember this Sunday morning when I was watching a program on business weekly and they were interviewing this successful business man. They asked him what was the secret of his success. His answer will always stay with me. "The secret of my success is my many failures. With each failure I perfected success."

New Year and a New Start

Well I am sorry to inform that my hydrangeas have died! I guess they did not have a chance with that summer heatwave since they were so young. Yes I have mourned their loss and that is why I have not been blogging. I guess when life gets hard denial and avoidance is the easy way out. So now I have to start fresh on that side of the garden. I don't know if I can give hydrangeas a second chance. I tried to nourish them, feed them, love them and they still died on me. I had all the best intentions and sometimes the God has another plan. So what next? Do I start new or should I try again? Maybe I need to check the soil as one friend suggested. I am thankful for friends who can always give me a new perspective and encourage us to keep going. I'm a bit disheartened but as with life, it's just getting back on the saddle that counts.

more pics.

Pictures of the baby hydrangeas.

I planted them last year and I am waiting for them to be at least a foot taller and fuller. I guess I lack patience when it comes to gardening. The only problem is they are so small that you can't see them when walking to the front door...I think I need to buy more! I will add more towards the front. I guess as with life foundation and patience is key!

I sure hope all this hard work will be rewarded come next spring and summer.

flower bed pictures

Well here are the pictures of my front yard. It consists of two flower beds on the left and right hand side of the front entrance. When I first saw the house I was happy to see such a beautiful greeting from nature as you enter the house. Now I have a love / hate relationship with the two flower beds. First of all I am a beginner at gardening and 300 sq ft. of dirt is just a lot of damn flowers to fill a space. Secondly, my job is even harder since the front yard faces East and can only inhabit shady plants. There's only a few shade plants that are beautiful and colorful. This is my dilemma, to fill all this space with just the right plants that only need partial sun. Good luck to ME!

My first entry...

Hey everyone or maybe just myself. ;-) Well I am very new in this whole blog world. Of course a very good friend of mine who has the same great ambitions or just plain neurotic (like me) has opened my eyes to blogging. My blog will probably be about my mishaps in gardening. I love plants, nature, sun, and anything to make my surroundings just a little bit more lively. Since I moved into my new home a year and a half ago my main project was to make the front yard more inviting! It is still a work in progress and I am struggling to keep weeds, bees, flies, and who knows what else from living on my beautiful flower bed other than flowers!!! This is harder than I expected! I am convinced that gardening is a metaphor for LIFE! One has many hopes for what life should look like but it's hard work to keep the picture in our mind to turn into reality (or to keep weeds from growing on my baby hydrangeas!) I am a bit frustrated with my large flower beds that leads to my front door. I want it to be inviting and to excite the senses of sight and smell. Right now it's just hard enough to keep it looking NEAT! Pictures of my flowers will be posted soon. So here I go trying to materialize that perfect garden in my mind into reality!