I'm back, and gardening!

Lots has happened. Family stuff, catching a cold/flu in January, remodeling the house (on-going since December, which is activating my asthma on a regular basis), and working on book deadlines. I'm catching my breath - literally - now.

​I have struggled to keep up with two of my passions, exercise and gardening. I'll let my daughter keep you updated on our planned fall adventure, 24 Hours of Palmer Lake. Her posts are mostly light fun, with some difficult let's-get-real moments.

Gardening in Colorado offers a challenge for growing things. We're either in drought or blizzard years, with unpredictable final hard freezes.

Through all the personal difficulties this year, I managed to get my seeds started. Today, I'm transplanting the successful starts to larger pots, because I can't plant them outside for another month. Yes, mid-May is traditionally planting time for tender plants, and that's chancing it. 

My seedlings may look young to transplant to larger pots, but hard experience has taught me that if I leave them in their small starter containers, they get leggy, then die. Or get root rot and die. Or I set them outside for some sun, the wind snaps their spindly stems, and they die. So I'm moving the tomatoes, peppers, and a few other things, to larger pots today, to give them a fighting chance.

I'll also start basil. I can grow basil, while others just can't get it going in this climate. The one plant I really struggle to grow is zucchini. I am one of the only people on the planet that doesn't suffer an overabundance of zucchini come harvest time.

I have found container gardening works best for me. My husband engineered an ingenious watering system, so even if we go camping, the plants get their water needs met. In Colorado, one day can dry out even large plant containers.

I've been a little down, waiting for spring.  Now the trees are budding, grass is turning green, and I have plant babies to care for. Life is looking good.

I will attempt to post once a week with updates on my garden.

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