Tuesday, April 22, 2014

Really Random Tuesday #80: Gardening Fun, Yellow Flowers, and a Book Winner


Tiny milkweed plants




Cherry tomato sprouts
Strawberry plants ready to be potted

Now that Easter is past, I hope the spring weather has arrived for everyone, and that the warmer days will inspire gardeners to get outdoors and spend time in the garden.  We're lucky in Southern California as the weather is usually mild, and even though we have a lack of water, it's easy to have a garden year-round.  Much to my surprise, I've been able to grow many herbs outdoors, including oregano, sage, mint, rosemary, and basil, which have been thriving in my garden.  Even my lavender plant looks healthy!  Currently, I'm thrilled that my cherry tomato seeds have sprouted, as well as the milkweed seeds I planted.  There's something especially wonderful about growing plants from seeds.  I'll leave the cherry tomatoes in pots, but hope to be able to transplant at least some of the milkweed to the milkweed section of my garden, when the plant are larger and stronger.  Some of my mature milkweed plants have disappeared, mysteriously, but at least I have two healthy looking plants left, to attract the monarchs.  I suspect one of the outdoor feral cats removed the milkweed plants, although I'm not certain.  (This sounds like it could be a storyline in a cat cozy mystery: The Case of the Missing Milkweed: A Meow Mystery.)  I'll plant the strawberry plants in the planter after I drill some drainage holes in the bottom of it.  I haven't had much luck growing strawberries in the past, but I can't resist trying again (hope springs eternal).  If you enjoy gardening, what do you like to plant in the springtime?

******************

Yellow flowers are supposed to make you feel happy (or happier).  At the very least, they signify spring.  I photographed these cheerful yellow roses with my phone at the California State Capitol in Sacramento, during the recent Key Club convention (I went along as a chaperone).  The tulips are a lovely Easter hostess gift from my sister-in-law's parents.  I love the color!  I'll plant the bulbs outside after the blooms are gone, to enjoy them next year.


  
******************


Traveler is the randomly chosen winner of The Idea of Him by Holly Peterson.  Congratulations!  I hope you'll enjoy the author's new novel.

If you didn't win this book, please take a look at the other book giveaways listed on the right side of my blog.  I update this list frequently as a courtesy to my readers.






******************
 

Appearing on random Tuesdays, Really Random Tuesday is a way to post odds and ends--announcements, musings, quotes, photos--any blogging and book-related things you can think of. I often announce my book giveaway winners in these posts. If you have miscellaneous book news to gather up and are inspired by this idea, "grab" the button for use on your own blog, and add your link to the "master" Mister Linky on the Really Random Tuesday page.

Thanks for reading!  Your comments are welcomed.

14 comments:

  1. There's nothing better than cherry tomatoes off the vine!

    ReplyDelete
  2. I agree, Kathy! It's so much fun to grow your own cherry tomatoes for salads and snacking. Thanks for leaving a comment!

    ReplyDelete
  3. I love cherry tomatoes also. Enjoy yours when they get ripe. Congrats Traveler, enjoy the book. I don't have a green thumb, so don't grow anything. I use to try, but gave up years ago.

    ReplyDelete
  4. Love the tulips! They are such a beautiful, cheery yellow.

    Have added my 'happiness' post to your RRT links.

    ReplyDelete
  5. I for one am very happy that it is spring. Those are some great pictures. Yellow is indeed a happy color.

    The gardening has also begun around here but I cannot take credit. My wife is the one with the green thumb.

    ReplyDelete
  6. Congratulations to Traveler! I love to see seedlings pop out of the dirt. Lovely photographs. Sadly, I do not have a green thumb, but we have some beautiful trees blooming in our yard..

    ReplyDelete
  7. Happy spring and gardening! That milkweed cozy grabs my attention. Hope you enjoy it!

    ReplyDelete
  8. Oh yellow tulips, along with daffodils my favourite spring flowers and perfect given that the weather has been miserable the last couple of days.

    ReplyDelete
  9. I wish I lived in So Cal... lol...
    Congrats to the winner!

    ReplyDelete
  10. Such great photos, you do have a green thumb Suko! And The Case of the Missing Milkweed sounds like it would make for a fun series!
    Beautiful yellow flowers, I love this time of year when everything is blossoming. I do have a small garden and I like to plant sunflowers every May. I start them indoors because the critters outside will eat the seeds once they start to sprout.
    Congrats to Traveler.

    ReplyDelete
  11. Wow.... cherry tomatoes..... something I should try in my garden (after all they cost four times the normal tomatoes)
    I got some Tulip bulbs from Amsterdam, now to experiment with it here.

    ReplyDelete
  12. I love tulips and those yellow ones are just gorgeous. I'm so envious that you can have a garden year round. I wish we could here but it's impossible with all the snow and cold. Unfortunately this year spring is having a hard time even finding us. It's still quite cool and if it isn't still snowing it rains. Normally by this time we're seeing more warmth and more green things trying to push their way out of the ground.

    When it warms up we'll be getting our garden ready to plant and cleaning out the flowerbeds and such. Our elderly neighbour plants marigolds from seeds which he keeps warm in his garage each spring and he loves to give us a bunch of them. Currently the teeny tiny plants are living in our warm garage. I love watching them go from so tiny to the big plants they eventually become.

    ReplyDelete
  13. I used to live in California across the road from the beach and loved every minute of it. I'd move back in a second but my husband was born and raised here and his feet are planted.

    I'd love to have a garden for strawberries, tomatoes, pineapple etc. and herbs, but haven't had much luck so far. My mom could grow anything and I've even seen her bring things back to life that went kapooey under my care.

    I love the yellow flowers! Congratulations Traveler!

    ReplyDelete

Your comments make this site lively! Thanks for taking the time to leave a comment. I value each one, and will respond to questions.

If you're entering a giveaway, please leave your e-mail address (or a link that leads to it).









Some of the books featured here were given to me free of charge by authors, publishers, and agents. As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases.

BLOG ARCHIVE

Blog header by Held Design

Powered By Blogger