Weighty Wednesday -- Gardening

1.6 pound weight gain this week. :-(

Bummer.

My only excuse is that I did fly to Atlanta to visit family and attend my niece's baby shower. While I imbibed in wine, beer and margaritas . . . and a few shots of Grand Marnier and Irish Whisky, I was also very naughty with the bite-sized lemon thingy's and pound cake, which gave me an overall weight gain despite walking a hilly terrain 3 out of 4 days for 40-50minutes.

*whew* That was a mouthful of a sentence!

I had fun, but now we are rolling down to the end of candy season with the final event--EASTER. Yeah, I just spent $54 on candy and stuffed bunnies for the Easter baskets.

So, now is the time to double time your exercise!

But this doesn't mean going to the smelly gym twice a day. . .

It means gardening!

Mini rose--Chasing Rainbows

I have 26 rose bushes (climbers, floribundas, minis and micro-minis) and this is the first rose of the season.

In February, I did all the basic spring cleaning gardening chores: cutting back perennials, roses, grasses and other plants that die all the way to the roots. I cleaned up the beds, weeded, fertilized and hubster mulched the beds.

When you do this, all you have to do is wander around the garden, admiring your beautiful plants, while picking the random weed or two.

Here are a few before (March 12) and after (April 3)pictures:

creeping phlox (blue)

creeping phlox (blue), hydrangea (corner). butterfly bush (rt-slightly trunked up), crepe myrtles (lft)

crepe myrtle tree, Batik iris, rose bush to far left and center (red tipped)

same pic, different angle.

Carpet rose is on left. Batik iris between sprinkler head and crepe myrtle, and the red tipped rose, Moonlight Scentsation (smells WONDERFUL) is on the right.

And the back corner under two Loblolly pine trees:

Daffodils are still in bloom

cloudy day, but you can see the phlox in bloom

It really doesn't take much time and effort to have a pretty yard or garden, BUT it does take due diligence. If you don't keep after it, then weeds and seeds will take hold and over run the place. A heavy application of mulch does more than make the garden look pretty, it helps keep the soil moist and provides a thick barrier which keeps weeds out.

Later, Peeps!