Home is Where a Few Good Potted Plants Are

Hello! It has been weeks since I last hopped on here to write, and boy have I missed it, and all of you! We have been incredibly busy, not only did we move into our new house, but I had family visiting soon after, and this is the first real breather I've felt like I've had.

Today, because the scheduler in me (who rarely comes out when I need her) likes to start projects on Mondays, I finally got some plants in the ground...or dirt...since they are currently in pots on my refrigerator until morning, because we have two very curious kitties wandering around. My hope is that neither of them are curious/determined enough to climb up there and try to knock potting soil all over my clean kitchen floors.

So, what did I plant? Well, like many of the Homesteading books I've been hungrily thumbing my way through (or at least was until I had to return them to the library so they didn't get packed accidentally) will tell you, gifted/foraged seeds are some of the best.

First of all, my Husband's grandmother grew some huge garlic bulbs, and passed them around the family. I've been holding on to them for over a month, just waiting to get them into a pot of soil. Second, I foraged some Echinacea cones from my wonderful mother-in-law. This is the beginning of my herb/tea garden, and I'm so excited about it!! She also gave me some gorgeous Tiger Lilies, but due to the fact that there is a very aggressive wasp next in the ground near where I'd like to plant them, I need to get another pot and some more potting soil before I can get them planted. They are currently living in a plastic bag, wrapped in damp paper towel...I'm really hoping to get them planted before the end of the week. I don't want moldy Tiger Lily seeds!

I think in terms of first plants for my garden, these plants are really indicative of my goals and dreams for my little homestead. My intention is to have a garden that helps our family live a more self-sustained life. We eat a lot of garlic (according to my husband and his family "It's an Italian thing") so, I'm already starting off with something that we probably spend a good chunk of change on every year. As for the Echinacea, it's going to go in my herb garden, with lavender scattered in as well. I keep seeing recipes and tutorials for drying herbs, and brewing your own tea. I'm a huge tea drinker, and I also use large quantities of certain spices in almost every dish I make, so the idea of having my own supply of dried herbs/teas is a HUGE yes in my book!

I'm slowly but surely making it all feel like home, and getting my garden started is a relief. I was starting to worry that if I didn't do something soon, it would fall by the wayside, like so many other projects I've started and never finished. That's hopefully what this blog will help with, at least in part. If I have a community of likeminded individuals, with whom I'm collaborating from afar, then I'll be motivated to work on things, at the very least so that we will have something to talk about, haha. In all seriousness, I'm thankful for everyone I follow on Instagram though, because seeing other people working hard and yielding results is incredibly motivating.

That's all for now. Thanks for not giving up on me while I've been AWOL the last month. Expect more regular posts as we get settled and life keeps moving.

Let's talk on the forums!! This week we're talking about which plants you are all planting or bringing inside to save for spring! Find me HERE!

God Bless and Keep You All,

MJ