Tuesday, April 26, 2011

Sewing and Gardening

If you'd told me 5 years ago that I'd enjoy sewing and gardening as much as I do, I would have laughed my head off.   Seriously.  Never would I have imagined that I'd be making Easter outfits for my children.  But there they are!

I used the Bowling Shirt and Easy Fit Pants e-patterns from the Scientific Seamstress.  If you want to learn how to sew, her patterns are wonderful.  They are like having a skilled seamstress sitting next to you and guiding you through the entire process.  I'm slowly acquiring everything she has to offer.

We attended the Easter Vigil Mass at our parish and it was lovely.  Three hours long, but lovely.  The kids held up very well and it was great to see all of the RCIA candidates receive the sacraments of baptism, the Holy Eucharist, and confirmation.


 The garden grows and grows and grows.  The cantaloupe seedlings seems to be fighting a battle to the death.  Out of the three transplants on each hill, one is going gangbusters, one has died, and one is limping along.  Survival of the fittest, I suppose.

The watermelon plants are all about to overflow from the pools.  We'll be purchasing some stakes and netting soon to create a place for them to climb.  Our garden is going to look like a jungle soon.







The little cucumber is now bigger than my hand!  And it's been joined by many cucumber siblings.  It's amazing how fast they grow.  

 The carrots are one big mass of greenery.  Crazy!

Two of the tomato plants are flowering (the other died, was replaced, and the new one died again.  Strange.) and the lettuce is slowly filling in the gaps.

Our strawberry plants are sending out plenty of runners and we're going to let them settle in.  I'd love for the beds to just be covered with strawberries.  Last year, our few strawberry plants didn't fare so well in the full heat of summer.  I think having more leaf cover will help keep the berries from getting sunburned.






I really, really, really meant to get a picture of the peach we picked today, but it smelled so good that we couldn't resist eating it up.

None of us have ever had a tree-ripened peach.  I don't think any peach we've ever gotten from the grocery store has ever been as sweet or as juicy.

We have two more still ripening.  The one in the picture is just about ready!




The pomegranate buds are bursting open, but I don't think we'll get any fruit.  Our other shrub doesn't have any flowers on it, so there's no cross-pollination.  They're pretty to look at though.


And speaking of pretty, look at these!  One side of our yard includes a treed portion and we've seen this big vine spreading over the past couple of years.

This year, we got a lovely surprise when these beautiful, fragrant white flowers began opening up.  I looked them up online and found out that they are Cherokee roses.

There is a sad legend for these flowers:  

When the Trail of Tears started in 1838, the mothers of the Cherokee were grieving and crying so much, they were unable to help their children survive the journey. The elders prayed for a sign that would lift the mother’s spirits to give them strength. The next day a beautiful rose began to grow where each of the mother’s tears fell. The rose is white for their tears; a gold center represents the gold taken from Cherokee lands, and seven leaves on each stem for the seven Cherokee clans. The wild Cherokee Rose grows along the route of the Trail of Tears into eastern Oklahoma today.

My husband grew up in Oklahoma, so these flowers are even more special to see here in Florida.  And they grow like weeds!  The information I found online said their cuttings take root very easily, so I may look into trellising them around our windows in the future.

5 comments:

  1. Hi Michelle. I replied to your question about long arm quilters on sew mama sew but if you need any help or want to ask specific questions just shoot me an email Katy at fatquarterly.com and I'll do my best to help out!
    Katy

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  2. Your garden is coming along beautifully! I'm going to use your baby pool idea; I have one we used for our ducks (who are no longer with us) and is just sitting there. Perfect for melons! Your boys Easter outfits are adorable! You did a beautiful job of sewing them!

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