My Green Thumb

The hubby and I aren't the best at yard work.  We've lived in our home for a little over 6 months and for about 4.5 of those months, we diligently mowed the lawn, cut the flowers, etc. every weekend.  Then we got tired and things got a little messy.  Then every weekend turned into every other weekend.  Then the weekend we would even think about yard work, it was only to mow the lawn and not take care of the overgrown weeds in the rose bed.  So, we hired a gardener.  It's what every person would do, right?

I mean, for a minute, I felt like it was a waste of money.  That a little elbow grease would fix the problem.  I mean, instead of spending quality time with the family, I should be outside, pulling weeds....right?  But now I get to enjoy this:

and this:

and this:

Look at those colors!

And this:

We think that's a peach tree?  We don't know much about these things.

I mean it's awesome to not have to do anything and have an awesome looking yard.  There's nothing expected of us, but the hubby and I aren't completely useless.  We planted these:

Sorry for the weird angle.  These are hibiscus shrubs, intended to grow over the horrible pipes in the front of the house.  I understand the functionality of water pipes.  I for one, love indoor plumbing, but who in their right mind ever thought, "hey, let's put these pipes right in front of the house, so everyone can see them!"?  And you know the kicker, despite having pipes there, there's no sprinkler system in that bed.  Bizarre, right?

Anyway, despite not having the patience or magic touch for yard work, we're pretty good at growing stuff.  In our previous home, we had great tomato plants, until our dog ate them.  Even the strawberries were growing well, until the dog ate those too.  So, fool me twice, dumb dog.  We learned to plant everything far, far away from the dog.  Here's what we're growing now, to start:

Basil, Cilantro, Flat Leaf Parsley

This is tons more basil outside.  The stuff grows faster than we can use it.  Anyone want basil?

We're also growing jalapenos.  Hot, make your eyes water, hurt your bowels hot jalapenos:

I've noticed lately that there are holes on the leaves.  Something I attributed to maybe small bugs or the type of soil we've used or the heat....and then the hubby informed me that the section of the flower bed where this plant is (near the peach? tree) that there are tons of snails. :::shudder:::: That's a story for another day.

And, my proudest achievement:

My money tree.  Not the big huge one.  The little one in front.  I've had it at least 3 years, and it's still kicking.  Thought I lost it last year when I stupidly left it outside in the sun on a really windy day.  But it came back. 

So now that the beds are clean and pretty.  I want to plant more.  See more grow.  Tomatoes grow well out here and I've successfully grown them before, so that's a good place to start I guess.

Man, I wish I liked tomatoes.