Eek, spring is finally here! At my house we are in the full landscaping swing of things! We’ve got some starters sprouting indoors and are planting bulbs and other things outdoors. I am moving a small cherry tree I sloppily stashed in the ground on the side of my house last year to another location so it can flourish. We are thatching the lawn, and hope to get working on landscaping our backyard. We did learn along the way not to cheap it or skimp on important things like topsoil. We unintentionally skimped on soil on our side yard and our grass grew in patchy and less vibrant then our front lawn. This year I fear we will be adding more soil and seed in hopes that the grass fills in. One of my favorite things when we start the growing season is to scout for seeds and dream of what we could grow while at the store with my husband. The possibilities are endless and my imagination explodes with all the edible resources I could potentially grow. Now, my husband isn’t much of a gardener, nor is he very fond of fruits or vegetables but he loves the idea of growing them. I think the colorful pictures on the seed packets sells him big time. This year we brought back a variety of different corns, sunflowers, tomatoes, and a variety of peppers along with our usual assortment of herbs and decorative yard plants. Last year we grew a habanero pepper plant indoors and we actually got a single red pepper. It was so much fun to watch it sprout and continue to grow. This is a great and inexpensive way to decorate a windowsill and provide lasting benefits. Even if you live in an apartment or condo, growing something indoors can be fun and easy. Now I’m not sure if this is the correct way or the expert way to have an indoor plant but it worked for us. We bought a pot(s), some organic soil and our seeds. After planting the seeds according to the instructions on the packets, we watered it and watched them sprout. We had a few plants that budded, such as the pepper and tomato plants and we pollenated them with a paintbrush. It’s a great way to kick of spring and bring a little piece of the great outdoors inside to enjoy. Happy Spring to you all!
Anna Hoke is the graphic designer and owner of Southeast Living Magazine. She can be reached at anna@seakliving.com.
