Round of Blogger Love

Holy Slugbait, where did summer go?!  We got back from spending a wonderful time at the beach a few days ago, to the delight of my garden - and to the dismay of all the crabgrass that had been having illicit parties in the flower beds.

Thankfully all that crabgrass makes the lawn look green?

I was flattered to find out that, while I was away, I had been nominated for a Liebster Award by Kevin from the amazing blog Nitty Gritty Dirt Man.  I enjoy his garden blog and always learn so much from it and was thrilled to receive a blogging award from him.  Thanks, Kevin!

According with the rules of this blogging award, Kevin gets to ask questions of the bloggers he has nominated, so here they are, along with my answers:

1. What is a favorite garden memory?
My favorite garden memory is when we dug up the (very compacted) area around the mailbox at our last house for a mailbox garden.  I first started out digging by myself with my shovel. Then my two young girls decided bring out their trowels to 'help' me.  Then their little friends across the street decided it looked fun, grabbed their kid shovels, and started digging.  By the end of the morning, almost every the kids in the neighborhood had turned out and were having a great time digging and playing in the dirt around my mailbox.  I returned them probably far dirtier than their mothers would have liked, but boy, did they have a ball - and my garden was nicely dug!

the little mailbox garden, dug by the neighborhood kids

2. What was your biggest gardening disaster?
While I have killed many a plant, usually due to putting the wrong plant in the wrong spot or not amending the soil enough, the disaster that sticks most in my mind is when I planted a hill full of Crocus bulbs one fall.  The next Spring, I was puzzled when only two out of the hundreds of bulbs I had planted came up.  Apparently, that hill was home to a family of voles, who thanked me for feeding them through the winter by making lots of babies.  Of course, all the babies felt so welcome in my garden, they proceeded to settle in other parts of the garden and eat all the roots of my most expensive plants.  It was the disaster that just kept on giving...

3. When you travel, are you someone who sightsees, goes on extreme adventures, or hangs out on the beach with a good book?
When it comes to travel, I like it all (though I don't care for my adventures to be too extreme!)

4. What meals have you tried to re-create from your travels?  (Feel free to include the recipe.)
While I can bake practically anything (and by anything, I mean anything detrimental to my waistline), I'm honestly not a great cook, so no meal re-creation here.  The only thing I've tried to make is Indian coffee, but for some reason it just never tastes quite the same as it did when I was vacationing in India right next to a coffee plantation.

5.  Why did you start blogging?
At the time, I had no friends who gardened.  My poor husband was tired of me talking his ear off about plants, so he oh-so-gently suggested a blog.

6.  What is your personal favorite post that you’ve written (and be sure to add a link)?
I do love my first Mission Impossible Squirrel post.  I'm pretty sure that these type of antics go on in my yard on a regular basis whenever my back is turned.

7. If you could have any superpower, what would it be?
Since I don't really want to be experimented on by governments, manipulated by powerful syndicates, or spend all my time fighting crime, I'm going to go with none.  I might watch too many sci-fi shows, but if you really think about it, you know it's true...  (Though maybe the government wouldn't find out if I had the ability to eat all the baked goods that I make without it being detrimental to my waistline?)

8.  Of all the movies in all the world, which is the one film you can watch over and over again and why?
The original Star Wars trilogy.  Because those movies are awesome.
(Yes, I'm a nerd.)

9.  What is your favorite quote and who said it?
The quote that has gotten me through many a crisis is 'time to put on your big girl panties'.  Another quote/saying that I love is 'always leave a place in better condition than you found it.'  I don't know who originally said these things, but I attribute both to my mother.

10.  What is something people would be surprised to know about you?
I lived in North Pole, Alaska, when I was a kid.  That surprises all the people who hear me complain so much about the snow up here, but in my defense, that was several decades ago, and I wasn't the one shoveling back when.

11.   If you could redesign your life, what would you choose to do?
I would never actually wish to redesign my life, as it brought me to where I am now.  If I had to pick, though, I think it would have been fun to get a degree in horticulture.  And if I had a redo, I would probably work on being a little less socially awkward growing up.  But wouldn't we all?

We're all a little special around here.

Now I would like to share a little of the blogger love.  While there are so many blogs I enjoy and read for various reasons (see the list I have on the right hand margin for some great garden blogs), there are several that I appreciate due to the more quirky sense of humor of their authors.  When the gardening chips are down, here are some blogs that stay upbeat and might give you a chuckle as well.

Casa Mariposa

East Side Patch

Southern Rural Route

Tidy Gardens by Jane

I hope everyone is enjoying the late days of summer!

As always, happy gardening!