Between you and me and that tree over there...

I confess.

I'm a killer.

If something green is growing, I will treat it like that big cartoon character, petting and loving it and calling it George until I've "loved" it to death.

I'm hoping that 2010 will be the year I turn over a new leaf. (I'll wait while you stop laughing at my awesome pun.)

(...)

Because if I can't figure out how to NOT kill green things, we'll have wasted a lot of money. Money I could have used to buy shoes.

We started out with something it'd be hard for even me to kill: some juniper bushes and a magnolia tree.

The sidewalk area leading to our driveway has always been a problem. The idiots who built our house (tellingly, they went bankrupt shortly after selling the houses on our street) decided it'd be a good idea to just spread gravel on either side of the sidewalk, ensuring no grass would grow, and rendering it nearly impossible to install any kind of flowerbeds.

Finally, I came up with a solution: Let's stick with the rock theme and just do a rock bed with some strategically-placed planters so it still looks like things are growing there.

Voila!

And even though I planted them myself, miraculously, THEY LIVE! (Below: snap dragons, asparagus ferns and dahlias)

I also bought hanging baskets and plopped them in the two smaller planters -- I'm hoping the vines spread out a bit in the rock bed:

And...drum roll, please...HERBS!

Bolstered by my adventure at Herb Daze (heh), I decided I had to give it a try. Thus, I'm now the proud mama of some starter oregano, dill, garlic chives, thyme, parsley and rosemary:

And...lavender!

I've been reading up on how/when to harvest -- we'll see how it goes this weekend. (I'm intrigued by the idea of freezing herbs in olive oil.) Wish me luck...

And since we've actually had a proper spring this year (vs. skipping straight from winter to summer), EVERYTHING else is blooming like crazy.

Our insane, wild lilac bush that I refuse to trim because I love how crazy it looks:

The one surviving Lily of the Valley I planted last year -- it hasn't bloomed yet, but at least it's ALIVE:

Some kind of geranium that I think is just gorgeous:

Our out-of-control rhododendrons:

And, and, and! Our pear tree is finally bearing fruit!

Hooray for growing things! And for me (hopefully) not killing them this year!

Have a wonderful holiday weekend, y'all.