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This has been a very busy season for us. Actually, the past year or so has been flying by. Maybe it’s because I’m getting older and my children are getting older, and somehow that makes life seem busier.
I made my second batch of soap in April (see photo above). This time I made lavender soap with lavender buds in it for some interesting texture and color. I doubled the batch this time, so I got twice as many bars as last time.
My first batch of soap is now ready to use, and we’ve been enjoying it. And marveling at the fact that I actually made this myself!
And, I was able to give away my first bar of soap as a gift (that was really fun).
Our raised beds are starting to produce. My mom gave us a bunch of tomato plants that she had started from seed. They were so big and healthy, and there are several different varieties.
We also have green onions, pepper plants (bell peppers and banana peppers), radishes, lettuce, cauliflower, pole beans, cucumbers, spinach, cilantro, and parsley. And we have some asparagus and potatoes that we need to plant. In another part of the yard we have a little strawberry patch (the plants donated by my parents, from their garden), blueberry bushes, and some blackberry bushes.
I have more herbs this year than I’ve ever had before. I have chamomile (started from seed last fall, so it’s ready to harvest already, and I’ve been harvesting it several times a week), rosemary (planted last year and now three times as big!), lavender (from a plant I moved here from our previous house, and I’ve also added several new plants), sweet basil, sage, oregano, bouquet dill, lemongrass, two stevia plants, parsley, echinacea (the ones my mom gave me last year apparently re-seeded, and we also planted more this year), chives, and three kinds of mint.
The little herb garden area is right outside the back door, so it’s easy to run outside for some herbs to go with a meal. Just around the corner from the herbs, I’m starting a flower garden. We put the bird bath in the middle of it all, as I’m hoping to attract birds and butterflies to this spot. I made a stone border using native stones found in our yard. Then we added the little white fence after the neighbor’s dog stepped in here (on some plants). He could obviously go over it very easily, but I just thought it might help. So far it seems to be working.
I love an English cottage garden look, so I chose plants that would fit that theme. I based a lot of my selections on the book, English Cottage Gardening: For American Gardeners. This book is full of inspiration and has a list of suggested plants in the back.
I really wanted to focus on perennial plants so that they would come back year after year, which would save both money and time. I love plants that come back. When you see them returning in the spring, it’s like greeting old friends. I regularly walk around the yard and say, “Oh, look, the roses are starting to bloom!” Or, “Oh, the mint is coming back!” It’s a happy feeling.
Some of the plants I have in the flower garden are: May Night Salvia, Tall Garden Phlox (purple), Pink Phlox, Pinks (Dianthus), Bee Balm, Creeping Thyme, Bachelor’s Buttons (my mom gave me these), and Veronica. I also planted some foxglove seeds, but I’m not sure if they’re going to make it, as they accidentally got stepped on (by a child this time).
My fairy rose has made a lovely comeback, and I was able to use some of the tiny blossoms for our Mother’s Day table (my dear mother came to church with us, and then we had her over for lunch). I found these tiny little glass bottles at a flea market last year. I only paid about $2.00 for all eight of them. When I saw them, I immediately envisioned little individual bouquets on the table, at each place setting.
The children also planted a little garden. This photo was taken early in the spring, and now they also have some of my mom’s tomato plants growing there, and peppers, radishes, flowers, and sunflowers.
A month or so ago I made a weekly menu plan that stays the same, week after week. I haven’t been able to do it completely yet (as we had other food that needed to be eaten or we were just needing a different plan for that week), but it’s nice to have everything all planned out.
Monday’s lunch included a delicious fruit salad (made with frozen fruit and berries),
And these delicious Turkey Ranch Pinwheels:
As I mentioned at the beginning of this post, life has been so busy lately. I have a list of projects I need to work on. Sewing, gardening, organizing, and school planning, to name a few! So, I’m planning to take a couple of weeks off to focus on two birthdays, many different projects, and hopefully making a few memories, too.
(A crustless pumpkin pie, created by my daughters for our tea party.)
See you next month!
P.S. Be sure to check back here in a couple of weeks (around the beginning of June) for a very fun giveaway I have planned (for a little hint: I think all the seamstresses out there will really love this giveaway! And if you wish you could learn to sew, you might want to get in on this, too!). 🙂
I love your blog! How did you make your soap? I would love to try it but oh so nervous because there are sooooo many options out there! I don't know anyone who has done it but I have tried many of your other posts/recipes so I would love it if you would share. Thank you!
Thank you for your kind words, Becky!
It took me years to finally work up the courage to make soap. And after I did it the first time, I realized that it wasn't as hard as it had seemed (although I'm still afraid of the lye!). I have never taken pictures of the soap making process because it usually takes all my concentration to just get it done, but maybe someday!