In the spirit of JK over at Gone to Target I am lamenting the lack of posting here.  So much has happened since I last wrote of my golden boy.   I have been creating posts in my mind for quite some time now but, like my usual protocol when it comes to following through with tasks, it stopped there.  Well, folks, I am back.  KPJ, a friend indeed, often posts a list of "10 Things."  These 10 things aren't necessarily life altering (although sometimes they are) but rather a list of things, thoughts, or ideas that have occurred in her life.  On that note, I am going to attempt "5 Things" lest I become an over achiever.  The horror!

1.  We Moved.  Yep, we moved...in October.  It was a swift process.  We tried and tried to move to the Mountains but that wasn't in the plan for us right now.  So we moved to our own little piece of the woods here in FL.  Trails are close by so I now get to run in the woods.  There is a lovely tree just outside our porch that is reminiscent of my college mountain days.  We love our new home.  We love our new neighborhood.  Good call Maleskis.

My Glorious Red Tree

2.  We had a baby.  His name is Patton.  He is named after a character in "The Children of the Red King" series and not after General Patton although he is a fighter.  He has been through a lot over the past couple of weeks and we have too.  

Baby P

3.  Maddox got a haircut.  I caved.  After attempting to cut it myself to disastrous effect I finally gave in and got Dianne to cut it.  I thought I was going to cry because his beautiful blond hair was the last remaining baby essence I had of him but I didn't.  His new hair cut is just as much a reflection of his personality as his discombobulated bowl cut of my design.  This kid owns me.  

"Hey, I'm cute?"

4.  I get to run trails now.  That may seem insignificant to you but to me it is glorious freedom.  I meet Jesus in nature and to have the ability to run and feel alive both spiritually and physically means the world to me.

5.  My church is pretty fantastic.  You should know that.  I do.  I knew it before but after some recent events I "know" it even more.  Thank you MCC.


  

Lauren In The Garden: FALL in the Garden

Lauren In The Garden: FALL in the Garden: The Healing Garden is ready for rejuvenation.   Now that the sun isn't searing me with heat every hour of every day,  I can finally start ...

FALL in the Garden

The Healing Garden is ready for rejuvenation.   Now that the sun isn't searing me with heat every hour of every day,  I can finally start planning my Fall garden.  I think about it all the time but now is the time to set things in motion.  New ventures are on the horizon friends.

The Healing Garden in the Spring

Container Garden in the Spring

I'm pretty excited to get my in-ground and container gardens going again.  I've been inspired since my vacation to St. Simons.  Hot Papa, the Loin Fruit, and I took several walks a day the entire week we were there and what I couldn't help but notice were all the butterflies.  I love butterflies.  We saw lots of these:

I need copious amounts of these in my life:

Pretty Flying Thing

On lots of these:

Butterfly Flower (Asclepias Tuberosa)

I think I need some of these too:

Of course I will be planting the usuals again this year:  Eggplant, Tomatoes, Bell Peppers, Basil, and Mint.  I'm also going to do broccoli, a variety of lettuces, and something exotic.  I'm not sure what the exotic will be but I'm doing some digging now to find something different.  I have found that I'm a whiz at growing egg plants and lettuce is super easy too.  The rest of the things are hit and miss for me but I keep trying because I want to be successful.  I had a productive tomato crop this year and my basil always does well.  I had a few bell peppers but then my plant got tired and went to sleep.  I still haven't cleaned out my containers from the Spring and one of my pepper plants has a small verging on orange pepper lazily growing up.  I don't expect it to get any bigger and the fact that it survived the Summer is still a little shocking (shocking in the realm of gardening not real life issues).

Orange Bell Pepper on the grow

Garden Tomatoes from the Spring

So that's the scoop on the Healing Garden circa September 2012.  This season I'm looking for COLOR COLOR and more COLOR.  Hear Christopher Walken exuberantly saying, "I need more Cow Bell."

Up next, I'm going to post how to save seeds from an existing veggie, plant them, and then transplant them.  I experimented with that this Summer and had a good go of it.  I failed to remember that my peppers weren't going to survive the heat and I should of waited until now to plant them but, alas, I learned something from my ill fated timing.  Here's a sneak peak to get your motors running:

On the Grow

How to Transplant Seedlings

Transplanting Seedlings:  Yes You Can

Seedlings I grew myself

Disclaimer:  I'm no professional.  I just really really love plants.  I love everything about them.  I love that they are of nature.  I love that they are green and bright, lots of them anyways.  I love that with the right care you can grow anything.  I suppose I love the Possibilities of Plants.  They have become my friends.  

I began my garden journey several years ago with an acutely black thumb.  Nothing I touched lived.  Seriously.  No pity party here.  I just couldn't grow anything.  I had a rudimentary knowledge base, if that, when it came to plants.  I knew they needed sunlight.  I knew they needed water.  That's about it.  The one time I successfully got some plants to grow was in 2004.  The we had like 500 hurricanes in Florida and everything died and I gave up.  I decided I couldn't do it.  I was cursed to kill everything I put in the ground.

Fast forward several years.  In 2009 I took on the task of digging my own in-ground garden.  I spent 3 days tilling soil, removing dirt, building a fence, and putting in all sorts of metal artwork (cuz that's how I roll).  The process itself was healing.  You see, I needed to complete a task from start to finish.  And I did.  I toiled and sweated and made my nook in our backyard.  The first season I learned a lot.  I had some success and some failure.  The next October I had experienced even more accomplishment.  I was getting the hang of this.  I planted again in the Spring but by the following year, 2011, I had a 1 month old and no time for a garden.  I'm ready again. 

 This Summer I experimented with drying my own  orange bell pepper seeds, planting them, and then seeing if I could get them to produce anything.  I DID IT!!! What I failed to remember was that planting anything in July in Florida just isn't going to work.  I was able to produce over 30 seedlings and transplant them and have had a few flowering plants from them.  If I would have waited a little longer I would have more fruiting plants.  The good thing is that now I know How To Do It.  And you can too.  It is super easy and that's the reason for this post.  So...how does the process work?

First of all, if you have a veggie or fruit that you really love save the seeds.  Get them out and put them in a paper towel to dry.  I put my bell pepper seeds in a paper towel, labelled it, and put them in the window sill.  I let the sun do its thing and dry out the seeds for a couple of weeks and then put the seeds in a plastic bag.  I labelled the bag and put it away until I wanted to use them.  

The next thing I did was fill an average sized ceramic pot with potting soil and put the seeds in.  I just gently pushed them about  a 1/2 inch under the soil.  I didn't really count how many because I was working under the assumption that several wouldn't take.  I suppose I ended up putting about 30 dried seeds in the pot.  I watered it for a couple of weeks and soon had multiple sprouts.  I waited until they were a few inches tall to try and move them to a larger container.

Seedlings in their original container

Once I was ready to move the seedlings I compiled all the things I needed to do so.  There isn't much to the process.  You'll need some potting soil, a tablespoon, and a few containers.

What You'll Need

After you've gotten all your materials, fill your larger containers with the appropriate soil.  Gently scoop out the seedlings and transplant them to their new home.  It's a painstaking process but your plants will thank you.  The tablespoon comes in handy because the root system in the seedlings isn't very long.  You don't want to disrupt the roots anymore than necessary either.

Gently scoop the seedings

Welcome

So if you've read my blog "In The Garden With Lauren" you've surely noticed that what started out as a blog about the trials and tribulations of having a backyard garden has morphed into something entirely different.  I'm trying to separate my personal blog from my gardening blog and projects blog so that's what "Lauren In The Garden" is all about.  I am dedicating this blog to my garden only.  In The Garden With Lauren is still up and running but will be the home to my personal goings on.  I also started a new blog that will focus specifically on all the projects I've been taking on.  This one is dedicated to the the crafters out there.  Those of us that have ideas and are inspired and have no clue where to start.  You can find this gem over at All The Junk In My Trunk.

That being said, I've just started planting again and I've got some diddys for you all.  I bought my first root propagator, a fancy name for a rooting hormone that helps you grow new plants from existing cuttings, and I'm going to give that a whirl this week with several of my herbs.  I'll keep you posted.

Thanks for journeying with me and I do apologize for all the change I'm throwing on you.  I know you can handle it (mom, just call me because I know you are now royally confused).  Here's a recap for you all:

Gardening Blog = Lauren In The Garden (laureninthegarden.blogspot.com)

Home Projects Blog = All The Junk In My Trunk (allthejunkinmytrunk.blogspot.com)

My Personal Musings = The Healing Garden (inthegardenwithlauren.blogspot.com_

To the garden I go with much gusto.