Really Random Tuesday #94: Spring Garden Notes, and a Book Winner

"No matter how long the winter, spring is sure to follow."
~ Proverbs

I know that winter was pretty harsh for many of you.  At last, the lovely season of spring is here!

"I love spring anywhere, but if I could choose I would always greet it in a garden."
~ Ruth Stout  

Outdoor Orchids

Many herbs grow in my garden, in pots as well as in the ground, including:

Mexican Sage

Lavender

Thai Basil

Rosemary

"There's rosemary, that's for remembrance."
~ Hamlet, William Shakespeare

Pleased as punch: a few cherry tomato plants that I'd forgotten about (because I planted them in a new, out-of-view spot) thrived on my neglect! 

Cherry Tomatoes

What's  growing in your spring garden?

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Congratulations to Julianne from Outlandish Lit!   She has won The Tusk that Did the Damage by Tania James.  Julianne, I hope that you'll enjoy reading this book, which features an unusual narrator (one of three), an elephant called the Gravedigger, as mentioned in my review. 

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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.

Have a terrific Tuesday!  Thanks for stopping by. Your comments are appreciated. 

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?

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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.

  
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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.

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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.

Really Random Tuesday #70: Supernatural Fog, and Summer Herbs

While I don't judge books by their covers, the outside cover of a book is often what compels me to pick it up in the first place.  I love the cover of this soon-to-be-released book by Louisa Klein.  It's the kind of cover that draws my attention.  It's creepy and artistic and mysterious, all at once.  Created by Regina Wamba, who also made the cover for Supernatural Freak, the first book in this series, Supernatural Fog is an action-packed, humorous urban fantasy that features heroine Robyn Wise.  For more details about the book, please visit Lost in Fiction.

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This summer, the herbs in the garden are flourishing. I have ample amounts of oregano and rosemary, and my sage and spearmint plants are starting to grow larger.  I also have a small lavender plant which I snip pieces from for that unmistakenly fresh fragrance, to have at my bedside.  I ordered the oval herb markers for my garden from Raincreek Pottery on eBay. 

"There’s rosemary, that’s for remembrance..."

~William Shakespeare

A lovely book about herbs

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

Your comments are welcomed!

Quote It Saturday: Garden Bliss

Nature is the master artist, and the garden is an outdoor studio.  Quiet little miracles appear in the spring garden--new leaves, the beginnings of fruit, a burst of flower-color.  Cuttings from other plants, from mint or succulents, start to grow and forge their own identities.

Signs of life on the Japanese maple

Rosemary plants have become bushes

Carrots (from seeds) flourish in a planter box

Mini cherry tomatoes sprout abundantly
 on plants from last spring

A brilliantly-colored geranium

Grapes-to-be!

This mint plant...

...led to this mint plant...

...and this one

A trio of succulents

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1911 edition

 by Frances Hodgson Burnett, author of

The Secret Garden   (and other books)

“And the secret garden bloomed and bloomed and every morning revealed new miracles.”


"I am writing in the garden. To write as one should of a garden one must write not outside it or merely somewhere near it, but in the garden."


“If you look the right way, you can see that the whole world is a garden.”

  

Quote It Saturday is a meme hosted by Freda's Voice.  During the merry month of May, Sheila from Book Journey is hosting a read-a-long for The Secret Garden.

As always, your comments are welcomed.