Extra Extra: Day of Mourning

• Thanksgiving weekend photos are up here. Check 'em out, and see if you can spot me in the family pictures! It's like Where's Waldo?.

• Today I said a very painful goodbye. My four little herb seedlings, which I planted in pots in early fall, died over Thanksgiving weekend. Apparently, they did not appreciate four days with no water. After trying my darndest to revive them to no avail, I let them go into the plant abyss that is our trash can.

• In happier news, yesterday I met and had an EXTENSIVE conversation with one of my all-time favorite authors (however, in the name of not sounding like a completely lame and crazy fan, I'll keep the author anonymous). This person is someone with endless amounts of character and wisdom, and he graciously humored my questions (which, thank God, were not quite so idiotic as "So what did YOU think about Denzel in American Gangster?"). It was a lovely interaction which made my day/week/year. Plus he personally told me that his granddaughter's name is also Larissa. So we like totally bonded.

More Herbs!

I've been enjoying container gardening, and it has begun to take over our porch.

I decided that one cannot have too much basil (yes, it's a sickness), so I potted two more basil plants. It smells lovely, and makes the porch feel more cozy.

I'm also attempting to grow some herbs from seeds. But as you can see, I haven't had much luck. Out of like fifty seeds, one measly dill seedling has sprung up. I think he's getting lonely.

Then there are the rosemary cuttings on the window sill in the kitchen, which seem to be faring better than the seeds. I cut off the bottom half of each cutting's leaves, and plopped them in water, and voilà! I'll let them grow for a few more weeks, and then plant them in pots.

The Basil Obsession

Cherry tomatoes from the garden!

I finally got a chance to tend to the garden today after a few weeks of mucho other things to do. I have been harvesting some of the tomatoes, which are delicious! I've also been trying my hand at container gardening. I sowed some seeds (dill, chives, parsley and basil) in small pots, and also potted some rosemary and basil to keep on the front porch.

Speaking of gardening, last week I had an anxiety dream about my basil. Which is quite ironic, since one of my primary reasons for taking up gardening was to welcome more peace into my life. Anyway, sometimes when I'm anxious about something, I'll have recurring dreams about things like people chasing me, or my teeth falling out (I know, that one is weird...but a friend told me she has the EXACT same dream, so there you go).

In this most recent dream, my basil was withering, and there was nothing I could do to stop it from dying. And then I woke up, and couldn't go back to sleep because I was so stressed out. I would have checked on the basil to calm my worries, but it was 3:00am and pitch black outside, and frankly, that would have solidified my arrival into Crazyland.

Yes, I know the dream is probably a metaphor for all kinds of things going on inside my little self. And yes, I know I should probably go see someone about this.

Trip to Reno

In a moment of spontaneity, Steve and I took a day trip to Reno while we were up in Northern California. It was my first time to the so-called "Biggest Little City in the World," and I discovered that Reno's reputation as the trashy little sister of Las Vegas is indeed very, very true. The whole place just had that depressing, run down strip mall feel, you know? But whatever. It was fun.

We spent the day in appropriate casino town fashion: all-you-can-eat sushi, $1 blackjack, cheap cigars, cheaper beer, and a photo op with our good friend Captain Mo. We then hopped in the car, made the 8-hour trek back to LA, and arrived home at 4 o'clock in the morning.

You'll find more photos of our Reno adventure here.

On a sad note, I came home to find some of my plants completely withered from the super hot weekend. I might be able to revive the oregano and marjoram. But alas, the young and vulnerable zucchini is no more. Let's have a moment of silence for the little trooper that wasn't quite resilient enough for the summer sun.

Attack of the Killer Tomatoes

Yes, those are tomatoes growing on my vine!

I've been slowly adding a few items to the garden, including sage, savory, lavender, marjoram, oregano, and zucchini. All the new stuff is acclimating just fine. One problem has been my thyme that I planted a few months ago. Part of it looks healthy (green and flowering), and the other part keeps turning brown and crunchy. What gives? My guess is too much water, since everything I read about thyme says it loves dry soil, but I'm not completely sure.

Steve and I will be out of town for a few days, so I found a plant-sitter. I just hope that my tomatoes hold on till I get back. Don't ripen just yet, my preciouses!

Homemade Garden Spray

Here's some fresh-picked basil from my garden!

Steve has also been growing in his horticultural skills (ooh, ooh, a pun! By the way, does anyone else think "pun" is the stupidest sounding word EVER?), which you can read about here.

A few days ago, I checked my garden and found two discoveries. Discovery number one was flower buds on my cherry tomato plant. It's growing! I haven't killed anything yet!!! In fact, every one of my plants has new growth. Joy!

Discovery number two was not as thrill-inducing. I found a few little holes munched in some of my basil, most likely caused by aphids. Eating MY basil. So I put together a homemade insecticidal garden spray, and regulated on the bugs. So far, I haven't seen many pests around.

The spray is easy to make, and completely safe for use on edible plants. For you other gardeners out there, here's the recipe:

Homemade Garden Spray
3-4 cloves garlic, minced
1 tablespoon Ivory Soap, grated
16 ounces filtered or distilled water, room temperature

Mix soap into water until completely dissolved. Stir in garlic. Pour mixture through a coffee filter and funnel into a spray bottle. Shake bottle to mix separated solution, and thoroughly saturate entire plant with spray. Spray will kill insects on contact, including ants, aphids, whiteflies and other pests. Wait 24 hours and examine plant for re-infestation. Re-spray specific areas or entire plant daily, for as many as five days, if necessary. Spray will last three months when stored away from heat and light.

Garden Update - Fun With Tomatoes and Herbs

Here's my little garden, looking significantly better than a week ago!

I amended the soil with fertilizer and a few bags of good soil, planted the plants, watered them, and spread mulch over the ground. I'm really excited about the plants I chose, particularly the tomatoes and basil. After spending all afternoon in the garden, I came to a conclusion that gardening is not for wimps. I have blisters, an open gash on my elbow, cuts on my knees, and aches in muscles I didn't know existed. But the result is the beginnings of a garden that will hopefully take root and thrive. Now comes the maintenance part.

Thanks to Trihardist, Tubetone and others for your gardening encouragements and advice. I would love the continued input from readers. It'll be like an online community garden! Also, I'm on the lookout for some good gardening-for-beginners type websites and books (there are like 4 bazillion out there, and I'm completely overwhelmed!), so send over your recommendations. Anything for the amateur, low-maintenance, small area gardener would be marvelous.

Gardening 101

Here is my garden in the works. There's an aloe plant, fig tree, rosemary bush, and ample space for some herbs and vegetables. A week ago it was quite nasty and overgrown, but after I went medieval on it with a saw and shears, I now have a workable plot of land. I also have my share of scrapes and scars, which just goes to show that garden gloves really are necessary, and not just something my grandma needs to use. Live and learn.

Don't Ask Me to Water Your Plants

My summer project is to garden. In the back of our house there is a rectangular plot of dirt with shrubs and weeds. My goal for the summer is to turn it into a beautiful garden of herbs and vegetables.

For anyone else, this wouldn't be that difficult a task. I do not, however, have the greatest track record with plants. In college a dear friend bought me a cactus for my birthday, which I vowed to faithfully care for. It died in three months. Then last summer we bought a lovely little ficus tree to sit near our front door. It was my job (not sure how that happened) to water it. By December, the tree looked as if someone had cursed it. It was a sad day when I had to take it out to the trash bin.

But against all odds, I'm determined to make this garden happen. I figure that having fresh herbs and vegetables to cook with is a nice motivating factor for me. If it doesn't work out, maybe I'll take up macramé instead.