T Stands for Tuesday Watercolor Practice & Gardening Projects

 Hi everyone, it's been a very cool and rainy past week. I was "getting in the groove" working outdoors in the yard and then the weather put a halt to that. The grass is really starting to grow too despite the cold temps.

   The last Tuesday of March is upon us already, I am ready for April and hopefully a warm up again soon. Welcome to the T group, if you would like to join in the link up- it is in my sidebar with our hostess Bleubeard and Elizabeth.  I would like to thank our hostess for this weekly event, if it were not for T not sure how I would find visitors to my blog here on Blogger-which seems more difficult these days.

  Saturday my two forsythia starts came in the mail. Packaged very well and good looking plants. I found the shop on Etsy and the reviews were all very good, I was very happy with the plants, and they came in Saturday instead of Monday so that was better for the plants. Sunday morning I placed them in a bucket of cold water for several hours-per instructions. These are to spread 10 feet and get up to 8 feet tall, so thinking in a few years they will cover up a bunch of grass

   I always loved the pretty yellow flowers in the spring and I have not had one of these bushes since moving down from Illinois. I recently got a post from my favorite herbalist-Jan The Nerdy Farm Wife on things to make with the flowers.  I did not know that the flowers were edible too. Below photo taken from her site

  My two plants are in the ground  There is not as much full sun on this side of the house that I had thought. There is also areas with solid rock not too far down, so the second plant couldn't go where I wanted it to. Can't see real well but these plants were 2 feet tall with branches, and even a few little yellow flowers

I had this material that keeps weeds out, it will do until I can pick up some nice bark mulch

  I hadn't accomplished much at all last week. Having allot of trouble with my eyes, they just ache and are too dry I think. I did purchase a heat pad of sorts for the eyes which seems to help a little bit. Thinking the allergies could be an issue as well-I needed to stop taking those allergy pills about a month or so ago-bad timing I know-because I believe they were causing the painful leg cramps, and making my body too dry.

   Saturday I used up the last of my water bottles and the bags of soil for starting seeds to plant lots more of the ground cover creeping thyme. I need to save up more bottles for sure. As you can see I added allot more "greenhouses" The yarrow has sprouted so far.

   Of the plants I bought  last year-I was sad that only one of the lavender plants out of 6 survived. I had ordered 3 they did not make it so they sent me replacements and only one survived. Only two of the bee balm plants survived but they do look good and have spread already. Not sure yet if the echinacea plants survived or not as nothing coming up so far. I do have a couple different ones planted as seed in the bottles.  Really hoping I have success with these perennial seeds I am starting I researched them all on how to start from seed-and these all needed a cold treatment first for several months. I would not have known that.

 

    I am going to work on practicing with watercolors at least once a week. I had picked up a couple of books that Kate shared last year.  

   I was using the idea of using India ink and my dip pen for highlights.

  The stems on the right I thought needed more-well this happened when I didn't think about the ink being reactivated with watercolors-so lesson learned  

    Making us our meal on Sunday, I remembered I had an eraser from way back in the 60's (1960) that I thought I might go over it lightly and see what happens, and add a little more watercolor-well now it's a bit better  I think  

   Those of you that paint, do you start over or do you try to fix a mistake?

For a practice session I am happy with the flowers especially.

  My drink share is a cup of herbal tea I have shared in the past. I do like this company's teas

Sunrise over the weekend

Happy T