Sunday, March 6, 2022

AROUND THE KITCHEN TABLE - Have Your Thoughts Turned to Spring? + 5-Book #Giveaway!



MOLLY MACRAE:

Dill as high as a mystery writer's eye
It’s okay to start thinking about spring, isn’t it? After all, Daylight Saving Time starts next Sunday. But yes, even if some of us can still expect weeks and weeks of cold and snow, it really is okay to start thinking about gardening. Decades ago, when we were first married, seed catalogs arrived in our mail in January and February. We’d pore over them, while the blizzards howled around us, dreaming of all the tasty and pretty things we’d grow. We’ve had big gardens, small gardens, fruit and nut trees, berries, flowers, root crops, you name it. These days we have marauding squirrels and too much shade. But there’s always dill! Those pesky critters don’t like it and we do. Do you grow flowers or vegetables or fruit? When does your mind turn to thoughts of green and growing things?  



🌿☔🥗

MADDIE DAY: Ah, dreams of spring and seeds and sprouts! The days are noticeably lengthening. Birds are back, singing and looking for food and mates. Nothing is actually growing yet, but the signs are there.

In my past as New England farmer, by now I would be getting ready to start seeds in March, and already had leek seedlings up and growing. The ground is still cold and bare, with the last snow having melted, but we're getting another dump of white stuff Friday. Still, I know my garlic is underground and already wanting to push up. The early crocus and forsythia will follow. In May I can plant lettuce and greens, including spinach, in my high raised box and watch the asparagus push up through the ground.


This recipe for a Spinach-Pepper Egg Bake would be one way to use up fresh spinach, which tends to be ready all at the same time! I'm giving away Murder Most Fowl, book four in my Local Foods Mysteries (written as Edith Maxwell), which takes place in the spring.

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LUCY BURDETTE: We have a very small deck garden in Key West, and a real garden in Connecticut. This year the deck produce has been disappointing so I am looking forward to asparagus in the spring and lots of tomatoes and peppers and okra when summer comes. We've not yet tried growing garlic, as Edith does, and forgot about how good the fresh onions can be. So those are on this year's wish list!


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PEG COCHRAN/MARGARET LOUDON:  We don't even dare whisper the word spring here in Michigan for fear it will arouse winter's wrath and provoke it to last longer! We still have snow on the ground and I'm sure more is on the way.  We can't even begin thinking about planting flowers until close to Memorial Day.  I'm probably the odd man out but I've never been a gardener.  One year we did have success with tomato plants and I foolishly planted mint and lemon balm, which nearly took over the entire yard, but now we live in a condo where we could plant a few flowers to augment the garden but not much else.  And I'm perfectly fine with that. I'll add some pots of flowers to the deck and be totally satisfied.

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TINA KASHIAN: I’m a spring and summer lover, and I count the days until warmer weather. We wait until Mother’s Day to plant our garden to be sure there is no chance of frost to ruin our plants. It’s a tradition for my two girls to help with the planting that weekend. Jersey tomatoes are especially delicious, and we grow beefsteak tomatoes, grape tomatoes, cherry tomatoes and Roma tomatoes. I love them along with my younger daughter. But my husband and older daughter won’t touch a tomato. We joke that there is more for us. We also plant cucumbers, zucchini, green and red peppers, lettuce, basil and parsley. We have learned to plant the parsley in a separate garden because it is so aggressive it takes over. Even with our own garden we still visit farm stands throughout the summer for other fruits and vegetables. New Jersey is the Garden State.

 


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LESLIE BUDEWITZ: Spring? What is this thing, spring? Here in Northwest Montana, we could see a hard frost well into May, though as everywhere, patterns have become much less predictable. We have a pair of apple trees, rhubarb, and a great strawberry patch, along with garlic and perennial herbs---chives, thyme, oregano, and a pair of unruly mints, and I plant snap peas, green beans, and zucchini and crookneck squash in a raised bed. No greens---a patient of Mr. Right's grows the best greens in the world so we trade her for them! Basil, parsley, and tarragon go in pots on the back porch, along with tomatoes, although a neighbor gets tarragon to behave like a perennial, so I might try that this year. It's great with chicken in the classic Julia Child style and in these Green Beans with Tarragon Vinaigrette.

My big garden task, begun late last summer, is reclaiming several beautiful flower beds around the house that I created over the years. They've suffered from more neglect than I ought to admit, so I built up some good muscle by digging and pulling grasses, pruning, and layering in my body weight in compost. That job will continue this spring and summer, but I am determined -- and already planning to reward myself with a white peony in a vacant spot. Gardeners, like writers, are optimists, always looking ahead.


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LESLIE KARST: Robin and I will be returning to Santa Cruz from Hilo in a couple weeks time, so it's going to feel much more like winter than spring to me, coming back from the tropics to chilly Northern California. (Yes, I do hear all the mocking that is now being sent my way from all of you in the Midwest and East.) But I'll keep warm by weeding my vegetable garden, getting ready to plant in late April when I return home from Malice Domestic: likely my usual suspects of heirloom tomatoes, zucchini, peppers, French beans, and an array of herbs.

 

the weeding begins


Can't wait for those caprese salads and that grilled zucchini basted with olive oil and balsamic vinegar! Here's one of my favorite green bean recipes: Fagiolini al Burro.



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MAYA CORRIGAN: We usually plant cool-weather crops in mid-March, but last week we took a chance and planted lettuce and spinach seeds. We'll plant those and other greens every two weeks until early May. Because it can get really hot here in June, the lettuce will bolt, but we'll plant again in late summer for a fall crop. Usually, we're still harvesting lettuce around Thanksgiving. Our plot in an organic community garden is more of a salad garden than a vegetable garden. We don't grow zucchini because our neighboring gardeners kindly share their excess with anyone who'll taken them. We're in it for the tomatoes. Though we visit our local farmers' market in the summer, we've never found any tomatoes there that come close to the ones from our garden.



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MIA P. MANANSALA: I'm not a gardener or plant person, though I really want to be! Throughout the years, I've tried to take care of indoor plants and windowsill herbs to little avail. You'd think I'd give up, but just this past weekend I picked up a succulent and set of three cacti from IKEA and I swear, this will be the time that my plants last for longer than a year! I 3D printed the adorable Bulbasaur (a Pokemon) planter at my day job, and it makes the perfect home for my succulent. Looking at the greenery on my desk cheers me up, so fingers crossed these plants make it!





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CLEO COYLE: Marc and I don’t have green thumbs, which is why we greatly admire people who do. To wit: If you’ve read our latest Coffeehouse Mystery, HONEY ROASTED, then you’ve met Bea, retired owner of a national florist franchise, who built an elaborate greenhouse on the roof of her Manhattan high-rise, an amazing glass palace where she farms award-winning mono-floral honeys via her precious beehives. For us, creating Bea’s fantastic greenhouse was wish fulfillment fun.

Far from Manhattan wealth, we live more like our amateur sleuth (coffeehouse manager Clare Cosi) with a small plot of yard in the back of our two-story rowhouse. Modest to be sure, but big enough for cozy cookouts, bird watching, and sipping coffee or wine on spring and summer nights. While we’re perpetually busy on deadlines and have no planned garden this year, Marc and I are supremely grateful to God’s green thumb and the wild violets that (through absolutely no skill of our own) blanket our yard every spring in vibrant purple blossoms. A few years ago, I made a “bottomless cup” video-loop in their honor, which I’m happy to share today as we all look forward to coming buds and new beginnings…


"Bottomless Cup" in our yard of
spring violets by Cleo Coyle ☕




🌻🌷🌼


GIVEAWAY!

To be entered in this week's drawing
for the 5 terrific mysteries below,
join us in the comments.

Do you grow flowers or vegetables or fruit? 

When does your mind turn to 
thoughts of green and growing things?

Join the
conversation!

Include your email address,
so we can contact the winner!


> ARGYLES AND ARSENIC by Molly MacRae

> PERIL ON THE PAGE by Margaret Loudon
(aka Peg Cochran)

> BREWED AWAKENING by Cleo Coyle

> DEATH ON THE MENU (paperback)
by Lucy Burdette

> MURDER MOST FOWL by Edith Maxwell
(aka Maddie Day)


Comments Open through
Wednesday, March 9


Don't forget to include
your email address.


📚

66 comments:

  1. khalsey@rochester.rr.com

    Good Morning Ladies, I look forward to your blog. My thoughts of spring and gardening started a few weeks back. After snow wind and cold fronts I started looking at my vegetable and flowers beds. Can't wait to weed turn up soil and figure out what to plant this year. Thank you for an opportunity to win, Happy Gardening to all.

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  2. I don't have a garden and I don't have a green thumb on either hands. I prefer looking at what others do with their gardening.

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  3. I plant flowers, mostly perennials, and relocate some of my lily of the valleys every year. I'd rather buy vegetables at our local farmers stands than spend time on them when I can instead focus on my flowers lol. Spring to me is official once my crocuses start blooming!

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  4. As I look out my snowy landscape, I can only dream about gardening and spring produce. I have overwintered my perennial herbs (bay laurel, rosemary, oregano, chives, Italian parsley) and have been growing some arugula, mesculun lettuce indoors under grow lights.

    In Ottawa, last frost date is in late May, so I am lucky if I can plant seeds for cold hardy veggies such as radishes and peas in early April. Since I am going to New Mexico to visit Santa Fe and attend LCC ABQ, I decided not to start growing seedlings until after I return home mid-April: Swiss chard, kale, pak choi.

    Our FM open late May, and I look forward to the first local asparagus, rhubarb and fiddleheads. Since March 20 is the official first day of spring, the new maple syrup counts as the first spring harvest but we're buried under snow until April.
    grace dot koshida at gmail dot com

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    Replies
    1. And as many of us know, you have that pesky squirrel Satan to deal with too, Grace!

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    2. LESLIE: Yes, the 2022 garden battle with my nemesis has started early this year.

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  5. Good morning! Planting season starts early here in Texas…our last freeze is typically early March. I love the idea of a garden and love reading about the vegetables you all plant, but I am not good with plants at all. My grandmother could grow anything, but that green thumb did not trickle down. cking78503(at)aol(dot)com

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  6. Do you grow flowers or vegetables or fruit? I grow both
    When does your mind turn to thoughts of green and growing things? I start planning in the winter and end of February I will start growing by seed. Also at this time i will start laying out what I want to put where. Last year we started a perirenal garden. We will be adding one or two plants a year watching it grow. quilting dash lady at comcast dot net

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  7. Gardening season never ends in this household. When one growing season ends, you think about, dream about and plan what you will do differently the next year through the cold winter months. Even before the chance of frost is over, we are starting to prepare for the work needed done before the actual planting. Once it's planted, the tending do things like watering, making sure they get the right nutrients, weeds are pulled and avoiding bugs and diseases have to be done on a very regular basis. Then there is the harvest and enjoying the bounty of the garden where you wonder why you thought you needed so much, canning or freezing takes place and you share the bounty of the garden with others. Before you know it, it's fall and the garden starts to get dismantled of tomato cages and dead plants. And in a blink of an eye, you are starting the process all over again.

    This time of year the mind has definitely turned to greener and brighter things. Hubby is the one with a green thumb and does the majority of the manual labor. He's spouted his own tomato seeds already that he harvested from last years plants. They are now planted in dirt. As for me, I have my salt shaker ready. He will also grown greens and several types of peppers. Where we use to have a large garden that supplied many families with veggies, we now just have a raised bed because we are older, that's all we need and we do live in "Stone" County. Soon he will be turning the soil and preparing it for planting. Proving that what looks like work to one is pure joy for another.

    Although my part of gardening is usually left to the harvest and use of the produce, I do enjoy my flowers. We've taken off all the straw that covered the flower beds (yes we have many) during the winter and planted some more peony roots. We will be planting more flowers and starting some from seeds in the very near future.

    The only fruit we grow are pears and strawberries. The pear tree was here when we bought the property. We never get to eat any of the pears, but the deer and squirrels really enjoy them. I was amazing to see the strawberry plants green and thriving having survived the winter with only a covering of straw. This is our second year of having those and anxious to see how fruitful our crop is this year.

    The jonquils are blooming that run along the civil war rock fence that goes across the front of the property. They are always a sure sign that winter is losing its grip. Looking forward to the changing of the time next weekend which will allow for more time outside.

    Thank you for the chance to win so many fabulous books from author's whose books I always enjoy reading. Shared and hoping to be the extremely fortunate one selected.
    2clowns at arkansas dot net

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    Replies
    1. Nice accounting of your green and growing things, Kay.

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  8. I'm to impatient and I always plant late. So I started byimg the plants from a nursery. The only things that seem to work in my small garden is tomatoes...hot peppers...and basil. Lol

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  9. I've grown cucumbers and tomatoes. I love to water them and see them sprout with flowers and then turn into vegetables. I love Spring with the warmer weather and trees getting buds and flowers popping up. Thanks for your great generosity.

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    Replies
    1. Here is my email I forgot to put it down. Maycarlson6848@gmail.com

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    2. Forgot my email, auntbopp@gmail.com

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  10. I love when the weather becomes better and I can get out in my yard and work in the gardens. The flowers not only brighten our home but also my spirits. We plant some vegetables but generally in pots or small plots of our yard. This is the best therapy I could ever find. robeader53(at)yahoo(dot)com

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  11. I grow flowers mainly. I usually try to do a few vegetables also, just depends on space. And I start thinking green now….
    bmedrano34@yahoo.com

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  12. I am in Minnesota and last night we had about 3" of snow on top of freezing rain so lots of ice under the snow. My husband owned a sheet metal shop and made me a planter out of metal; it is on my deck with my chives, so I keep an eye on it to see them grow again. Somehow, they survive the cold winters. I am on a lake and there are still people driving on it so it will be sometime before I see my plants. I do have two geraniums in the house I will replant in the Spring.
    Leona

    mnleona (at) aol (dot)

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  13. I grow flowers and vegetables outdoors with improving luck over 20 years but my husband starts a pool for every houseplant's life expectancy. Lol! hsim3691@gmail.com

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    Replies
    1. I have the same experience as you with houseplants, Heather.
      ~Maya

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  14. Being in south Florida, my husband indulges his love of orchids with a collection out back. He has a reasonable attitude: he gives them adequate care and they either live or they don't! We've had some really fun ones over the years.
    I have a big planter full of oregano from several years ago. It just keeps going. I have off and on luck with mint (I know! It should be indestructible!) and basil.
    Our intense sun makes it tricky to grow veggies They can easily get overwhelmed.
    libbydodd at comcast dot net

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  15. I live in Southern California, so weather is already warm. Growing up on the East Coast, we had a garden, and my father planted tomatoes. They were just the best. I sadly, have a black thumb, so I have not tried to plant anything.

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  16. What a fabulous giveaway! I usually start thinking Spring come April, after the frost fears are over. I have a garden each year. I grow zucchini, cucumbers, squash, pumpkins, tomatoes and a bunch of peppers for salsa. I plant flowers that come up each year. Love watching new buds bloom!

    Happy Gardening!

    Thanks for the chance!

    jarjm1980(at)hotmail(dot)com

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  17. We've always had a large garden with lots of fresh vegetables so as a kid I hated the canned stuff we got in school. We usually have onions, green beans, peas, corn, cabbage, radishes, tomatoes, kohlrabis, asparagus, and rhubarb. Sometimes we'll add in lettuce or pumpkins and just put in some ground cherries last year. Out on the farm we used to have horseradish, dill, grapes, and raspberries too.
    kozo8989(at)hotmail(dot)com

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  18. I enjoy planting flowers each Spring. They bring me joy and are so colorful and beautiful. I have barrels which fill the space instead of a planting area because it is easier for me. saubleb(at)gmail(dot)com

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  19. Where I live we can start planting now since the weather has warmed up nicely. I would love to start a vegetable garden filled with cucumbers, tomatoes and basil. Something small and simple. I will be starting the flowers very soon as well. Iris, day lilies and pansies brighten up my day. elliotbencan(at)hotmail(dot)com

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  20. Vegetable (squash, broccoli, cabbage, greens, tomatoes, onions, potatoes, okra, brussel sprouts, carrots, corn), fruit (grapes, apples, pears, blueberries) and flower gardening. Thanks for the chance to win! Luvs2read4fun (at) gmail (dot) com

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  21. I live in an active 55 community and I have a relatively small raised bed garden and 2 standing planter boxes.. which I tend to way overplant! Last year I had hot peppers and cucumbers going bonkers.. so I tought a couple neighbors how to can picles, relish, hot pepper sauce, and even cranberry red pepper jelly. We had a ball and we are already making plans for this summer's canning ideas. I just planted pepper seeds and tomato seeds in starters and we shall see. Last year the tomatoes did not do well.. hoping for those to do better. I also keep flowers growing on the porch - not suppose to grow vegies out front. hmmm I had a gorgeous Japanese eggplant mixed in growing in a bucket with purple flowers. I got many compliments on the gorgeous purple flowers and beautiful plant.. and no one realized that most of it was a Japanese eggplant!! That was fun and a subtle way to break the rules. lol!! nelsonjj304(at)aol(dot)com

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  22. I am in Michigan and will be trying to reclaim a section of the backyard for a vegetable patch. I have started thai chili, groundcherry/cape gooseberries, tomatoes, and kale indoors. Hopefully the plants will be strong with a good start by the time I can plant them outside. Things in the ground from last year are rhubarb, blueberries, thornless blackberries and raspberries, as well as the standard herbs of basil, oregano, thyme, sage, lovage and chives. Flowers that can overwinter pop up throughout the garden and keep things beautiful, but I really want to grow things I can step out of the house and pick as part of lunch or dinner. Will likely start zucchini, delicata or butternut squash and sow peas as appropriate time comes. Wish there was larger section of sun in the garden.
    little lamb lst at yahoo dot com

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  23. I have two plant-killer thumbs. I should be on the hit list for gardeners everywhere. Even my basil has gone to seed! I think I have finally decided to give up killing plants and buy fake flowers! Farmer's market produce for me!

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  24. We had thunderstorms yesterday, so I guess Spring is on the way. I grow raspberries and they come back every year. I also have peonies and perennials in my garden. I like plants that come back every year. I'm looking forward to seeing the plants sprouting and Spring in the air.
    diannekc8(at)gmail(dot),com

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  25. We have small beds at each side of our house and front and back. The front and sides have flowers and the back is for our veggies. Just enough room for a couple of cucumbers, a tomato, a zucchini and our rhubarb.

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  26. ljarisch@yahoo.com Loving an earl spring day here in western Massachusetts ! Windows open and smells of spring wafting in...I'm not much of a gardener, but I DID get countertop herb garden kit for Christmas, so maybe it's time to get that going

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  27. I'm not much of a gardener these days. A few years ago I had a plot at a community garden for a couple of years. The first year was a success and the second year not so much. Nowadays I have a Christmas cactus that takes very little effort to keep alive and is about to bloom any day now.

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  28. I plant flowers and vegetables. In Minnesota we have to start late. My birthday is in late May and every year for my birthday I plant tons of flowers. We also grow tomatoes, cucumbers, onions, potatoes, peppers, brussel sprouts, snap peas, sometimes broccoli. I've tried to grow strawberries and blueberries with very little luck. There is nothing better than a fresh tomato from the garden. I can't wait! 🍅
    kathyclugston3@gmail.com

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  29. I wish I had room to grow a garden. I would start with a chef's herb garden, then add separate veggie and flower gardens. Growing up we had citrus trees, then peach, plum, and apricot trees at the next house. One house we rented had blackberries. My grandma had a fig tree. The fruit trees were a lot of work to ensure fruit rats were not a part of our lives.

    mostbattyone@aol.com

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    Replies
    1. Hi! We used to live in an apartment complex with no outside spaces. So what my neighbor did was use deep pots and plastic bags (heavy garbage some from grocery store) to plant carrots, salad greens, spinach, herbs, tomatoes and some other stuff. Norma had her garden for a few years. The pots and plastic bags were placed near windows. Sometimes she would give us something when she had more then she could use. She started her seeds in the egg cartons and when they had sprouted, she'd put them in a pot or bag. All table scraps go into a composting mixture. If you have not explored the idea already. Maybe something I said might help. Where I grew up we had several fruit and nut trees. And a small garden. I miss the really fresh stuff.

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  30. My husband takes care of all the outdoor plants. We have a few fruit trees that are only a few years old. He grows some pineapples. Then there are quite a few flowering shrubs along the back fence. It's nice living in Florida as we have flowers all year long. I have enough trouble keeping my Christmas cactus alive. pgenest57 at aol dot com

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  31. Where I used to live. I grew quite a few herbs and flowers. Lived in an apartment complex with no ground to use. So I was working on an indoor vegetable garden when we had to move. Just after we moved, my son asked me to 'babysit' his 4 cacti. Sorry. But despite my care. They bit the dust. My son's comment was. "Mom. I love you. But you are probably the only person on the planet who can kill cactus plants. Seems those cacti set the course in steal. Where I am now. I have been unable to keep anything alive. My herbs and other plants have all withered and died. Much to my regret. Fresh herbs gracing a dish gives it a whole different appeal. So disappointing. deepotter at centurylink dot net

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  32. I grow some flowers and I am looking forward to seeing if I can make some rose and peony seeds grow in April. I've been keeping them in the fridge to "pre-treat" them.

    jsmith[delete brackets]3may[delete brackets]2011

    [at symbol]

    yahoo[dot]com

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  33. I grow flowers—have spring bulbs, peonies, roses and try to plant some annuals like rose moss, zinnias, marigolds, etc. I grow a small garden mainly some tomatoes, peppers and rest varies from year to year.

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  34. We moved last summer and it was too late to plant. My DIL is planting seeds now for flowers and vegetables for the gardens. I don't know all of the different kinds that she is planting but it will change out ranch to a farm in no time.
    lkish77123 at gmail dot com

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  35. Unfortunately, I have a black thumb so I don't try to grow anything anymore. I have been even known to kill a cactus. These days I just buy them. cherierj(at)yahoo(dot)com

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  36. I don’t even try anymore. I have a super black thumb. I can even kill silk plants.
    Sara. UCLASara@yahoo.com

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  37. Now I am growing succulents. I have some seeds to plant also. When I think of green and growing things, I think of wonderful summer vegetables and fruits.

    Nancy
    allibrary (at) aol (dot) com

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  38. I plant tomatoes and herbs.

    jtcgc at yahoo dot com

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  39. We added raised garden beds last year. We were pretty successful with tomatoes, cucumbers and green beans. I an anxious to get planting again. I also like when all of our flowers start to green up because it is a sign of warmer weather. jteastman215 at gmail dot com

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  40. The herbs grew well last year, except the mint.
    Sadly the Scorpion peppers didn't produce.
    jmellby gmail.com

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  41. I am not good with plants, indoors or out. I love to look at the beautiful plants that I could have in my yard if it wouldn’t immediately die. I have a few peonies in my side yard that flower each year, but nothing in our back yard as it is all shade. I planted a pot with herbs last year that was nice and I plan to try that again this spring. FabriCatz@aol.com

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  42. Live in a apt building so not much is grown outside. Not much of a green thumb here. cheetahthecat1986ATgmailDOTcom

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  43. My husband is the one with green fingers - he can make anything grow and thrive! I do try with flowers. The only thing I've had the best luck with is an orchid my son gave me two years ago on Valentine's day. It has flower buds on it again. madamhawk at g mail dot com

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  44. We are fortunate to live in east Texas where just about everything loves to grow. Spring brings to mind bluebonnets (we buy plants at the garden center) and we plant wild flowers to attract bees, butterflies & hummingbirds and
    each year I plant a vegetable not popular and therefore not available in our area but that I either love or want to try. This year it's watercress. Last year it was Swiss Chard. I should plant a fruit tree shouldn't I! lnchudej@yahoo.com

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  45. I start thinking of spring on January 1st! I love getting my seed catalogs in the mail early February. Like a true child of the 70's, I circle everything I want to buy. In March we begin the process of plowing and preparing the raised beds. Thus year I'll do more. To afford fresh produce it's going to have to come from my backyard!

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  46. I start thinking of spring on January 1st! I love getting my seed catalogs in the mail early February. Like a true child of the 70's, I circle everything I want to buy. In March we begin the process of plowing and preparing the raised beds. Thus year I'll do more. To afford fresh produce it's going to have to come from my backyard!

    ReplyDelete
  47. I don't have a green thumb but have tried to grow flowers and indoor plants. My problem is I don't get enough sun where I live. Have lots of old, big oak trees. We don't get much cold weather where I live so Spring is not such a big deal. I enjoy reading about other peoples gardens. conney.parkhurst@gmail.com

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  48. Looooove Spring and planting veggies. In our raised garden beds we grow tomatoes (many 'volunteer plants grown themselves), green peppers, kale, Italian, Thai and Persian basil, Thai eggplant, sage, oregano, thyme, lemongrass and blueberries. There are always sweet potatoes that we can't get rid of...from planting one such potato long ago...the vines are pesky, and regrow despite our digging up the potatoes...a blessing indeed! Varieties of mint and peppermint grow in containers. Thank you for this delightful blog, which allows us to keep in touch with you, our favorite mystery authors!!!! Luis at ole dot travel

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  49. Limited space makes the options small so I stick to fresh herbs on my windowsill. lindalou64(@)live(dot)com

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  50. Not gardener, I can kill anything (including house plants). But...my daughter-in-law is a wonderful gardener, vegetables and flowers so far but she planted some fruit trees over the past few years. I look forward to visiting & checking out her gardens!.

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  51. My thumb isn't very green. I'm able to keep an aloe plant alive for my kitchen mishaps, but that's about it.
    wskwared(at)yahoo(dot)com

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  52. I'm no good at gardening. The previous owner of my house planted lots of flowers, and those stay alive by me not interfering with them. I tried to do a veggie garden a few years ago but it failed. JL_Minter(at)hotmail(dot)com

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  53. I love to grow flowers in my garden. My favorite are zinnias and black eyed susans. As soon as it gets warm I am out here prepping my yard.
    Jess
    maceoindo(at)yahoo(dot)com

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  54. We have peach and pear trees on our property and also grow various hebs! tWarner419@aol.com

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  55. I absolutely love growing things. Flowers , cacti, watermelons oh my . I love planting with my kids and husband. I have a beautiful goldfish plant in my kitchen. It makes me smile. I think of all the beautiful green things all year but especially in winter. I am so tired of the cold. Bring on spring green.angelagillooley@gmail.com

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