Big Work Ahead

My garden is mostly on a quarter acre that is the original property that our old (pre-hurricane) house was on. The other three-quarters is an on-going project.

We purchased the three lots next door some years back to prevent the trees being cut down and a house being built too close to ours. The property was a mess when we bought it, and aggressive vines were choking the trees out. It's back-breaking work (only done in the cooler months), but we've been attacking the vines ever since.

Our work was stopped for a few years when our home was destroyed by a hurricane, and we were focused on re-building. The vines, however, never stopped. The wild grapevines are the most destructive, but the potato vines don't go dormant during the winter. We get out there whenever we can and keep working at it. It's our intent that one day, it will be a beautiful natural wooded area.

Rat-Race in the Greenhouse

So, I have this wonderful greenhouse that my husband built for me, and I put all my tropical plants inside for to keep them safe from the winter frosts. Because I lost so many plants to the unusually cold winter we've been having, I decide to start some seedlings to have a bit of color this spring.


Enter the rats. We only considered the weather when we designed the greenhouse. We never thought rats would come in and trash my seedlings. I plant new seeds and they dig up the new babies. I can't find a way to keep them out--they squeeze through the tiniest corners.


I suppose I'll just have to buy lots of catnip and leave the door open.

Meanwhile, the seed trays are in the laundry room.

Spring is Springing

The daffodils are showing their leaves at last. I'm not sure if they've been slow because I planted them late, or if the cold winter kept them down.



The wildflowers have been this size for about two months. I'm actually surprised they survived the freezes we had, but I suppose they are really weeds.

Moss Up Close

Most of my garden may be sad and brown, but the mosses are thriving. Up close, the spores give the appearance of a miniature garden.

Gathering Moss

With most of my garden brown and sad from the cold winter, moss seems a natural choice for a little green. I low spot in my garden that floods in the rain, and since nothing else seemed happy there, I cleared it and prepared it for moss.

I didn't have any moss in my garden, so I had to go out and search for it. It's amazing what you can find when you go out and look for it.

Yes, I'm the crazy lady on the side of the road digging with a spoon.

A Cold Winter

This year's winter has been hard on my garden. I won't know until springtime what has survived.