This year we have decided to try a small herb garden and by small I mean microscopic. I’m going to use basically a window sill flowering pot. We have two herbs to try – tarragon and chives. I’ve consulted the almanac and it appears the next day optimal day to plant seeds is Thursday, April 30th. I may pick up some more herbs before then.

I’ve never had success keeping house plants or flower beds. I did have an aloe vera that lasted for years. But they are very low maintenance. I’m hoping that I will get to cook with some fresh herbs from the garden. It might inspire me to plant more. I need to pick up some fertilizer to mix with my potting soil. Or maybe I will just use some of our compost since it makes a good fertilizer.

So that is the plan for Thursday. Let’s hope it all goes well.

There’s one big problem with spring cleaning when you live in the south. It’s that you have about a week of spring-like weather before it starts heating up. Who wants to spend those first few days cleaning, right? Not me. I always lose that window of pleasant weather. Then it becomes too hot and I definitely don’t want to clean.

So this year I’m winter cleaning. I’m going through storage boxes, deep cleaning hard to reach and overlooked spots, and rearranging furniture. Decorating for Christmas is the perfect time to do this since I’m putting away a lot of regular decorations and making room for the tree.

I just seem inspired to clean lately, so I have to go with that vibe since it doesn’t come around that often.

A few weeks ago, I planted mostly sunflower seeds in containers on the front porch. This way I could cover them up should we have a cold snap. Well, I think by doing so, I scared away any possibility of any more cold weather as it has been pretty warm. They are really beginning to grow:

I have some biodegradable containers to plant even more seeds but might just hold off a few more days and plant them in the ground. I haven’t consulted the Farmer’s Almanac but feel safe in assuming that the chance of frost is slim.

I’m so excited to see the flowers bloom. It should be a great photo opportunity.

I’m anxious to plant some flowers. Since we haven’t hit our last frost of the year, I’ve planted some seeds in containers, so I can cover them on cold nights. Here is a picture taken a few days after I planted the seeds:

And here is how they have grown in just a few days:

So we are seeing much progress from the sunflower seeds. I get so excited to check on them each morning because it seems there is a new one that has sprouted up. Hopefully we will have a bunch of sunflowers this summer, which will make for great photo opportunities.

The warmer weather has me dreaming of spring and summer. It’s so great to finally be able to spend some time outside. Rae’s favorite new thing to do is to chase butterflies. There are a few yellow butterflies that have appeared in the yard. Whether they flutter to, Rae follows, yelling “come back.”

Here is a Monarch butterfly that frequented the lantanas last year. Raegan would definitely enjoy Butterfly Palace in Branson. I’ve heard it’s a beautiful piece of Branson property. Until we can go, I thought about making our yard as butterfly friendly as possible.

I’ve been wanting to buy some flowers for the yard and really want to plant some that attract butterflies. I haven’t found any lantanas but I did buy some seeds for lazy eyed Susans(or one eyed Susans, they have so many names!), which attract butterflies as well. I will have to do a little more research to find some others.

Anyone have any suggestions for flowers that attract butterflies and do well in the south?