Gardens start, for most of us small gardeners (or husbands of small gardeners) at the Lowes Home and Garden Center.
Lowes and Home Depot are the big guys around my neck of the woods. Don't know about other parts of the world. Neck of the woods? Does that mean woods also have a head? And does it bark?
Vegitables -- I'm guessing tomatoes -- but that's only because we always plant tomatoes. The neighbors plant tomoatoes. In a few months we will all have so many tomatoes we will be sneaking out at night and leaving bags of them at each other's doorsteps to try and get rid of them.
This year our neighbors decided to grow them upside down. I don't know if the dreaded late night infomercials play around the world but in this barking neck of the woods, lately, they have been selling -- "Operators are standing by! First 2000 callers get a free trowel!" -- the miraculous upside down, hanging plant thingies, guaranteed to get more fruit! I was saying to Karen, "What fools ever buy these things!" Then we looked next door.
We plant ours the old fashion way...behind the grill.
...which sits next to our cascading stair garden that takes over our screened in porch providing a habitat for chameleons.And then there was Tuscany...
This was a very busy week for me at work and it was hard to squeeze in time to fly to Italy and back but...
No sacrifice is too great for the Friday Shootout.
Bagman even took off his shoes (and the rest of his clothes, of course), to dance on the grapes in the vat with Lucy and Ethel...or am I the only one old enough to remember I Love Lucy dancing in grape juice on black and white television?
Hmmmmm, I am single now Baggy! You better watch out.....xxx
ReplyDeleteWow, those tuscany tomatoes look small. Must be the "cherry" or "grape" variety.
ReplyDeleteI agree it is strange ...you're are in spring and I'm in autumn ...I like your stairs ..I love nurseries full of plants like that SO much...and your trip to Italy ..why didn't Bagman come for me first? I'm currently addicted to the movie Under the Tuscan Sun ... *smile*
ReplyDeleteButler and I just sit back shaking our heads to watch Bagman preen and puff himself up under all this attention he gets. He's getting pretty obnoxious sometimes.
ReplyDeleteOh, I'm all about the garden centre these days. That mania will dissipate sometime around late July.
ReplyDelete(I liked your Tiger Lily joke, btw. Also, the drollery about the tomatoes.)
Yes, tiger lillies. Tiny tomatoes. We used to buy our tomato plants from the "little old man" down the street. When I got older I realized that guy sold things much stronger than tomato plants. ~Mary
ReplyDeleteOh my! Oh my! You wound the heart of AirmanMom who works in a *real* garden center. When I hear of someone buying their plants at a big box hardware store, I cringe. I twitch. I shake my head.
ReplyDeleteAlas, I know many a Harry and Harriet Homeowner can spend less money at such a place, compared to us peddling our higher quality beauties at a little 'mom and pop joint'.
B&B I shall return to read you once again, once the cringing and twitching subsides! ;)
~AM
Well my my B&B........always intrigue in your stunning shoot-out picy's!!! I love the tomato story and I do the same with my veggies.......just kind of drop off me extra's on the neighbor's doorstep when I don't feel like or have time to can them.
ReplyDeleteSo, Bagman has been crushing grapes again in his birthday suit???? I'll bet he has a woman in every port, no????
Tell Michelle to stop flrting my my Bagman.......I called him first :)
Awesome shots dude...........
Steady On
Reggie Girl
No one can say you don't go all out for the Friday Shoot out, Mark!
ReplyDeleteIt's always fun visiting your blog! You never know what you're going to fun, but it will always be fun!
Loving the dancing in the grape vats, are you sure I wasn't there?
ReplyDeleteYour garden is about 2 weeks ahead, but I have big plans to catch up. I don't think I remember Lucy 'naked' stomping grapes, but then I forget a lot of things these days.
ReplyDeleteLove your Friday Shoot Out! Now I feel as though I better get out there in the garden:)
ReplyDeleteNo Lowes here for me -- just smaller family run nurseries:D Wish you could drop your tomatoes off at my doorstep...last summer ours all rotted:(
I remember Lucy and Ethel;) Not naked, I don't think...
Oh boy I sure wish someone would leave yummy home grown tomato's on my door step. Beautiful pictures!
ReplyDeleteNice garden center! got lots of beautiful plants there ;). You have a fantastic garden at your backyard. How nice it is to have grill party every night there...yum yum ;). and I love your tuscany shots too. You're a great photographer ;)
ReplyDeleteAnd i love your header pic too.
ReplyDeleteLOL - you certainly keep me smiling. I loved this post, great shots too!
ReplyDelete:)
That's so funny, I should have done taking photos in a garden center just like you did so I don't have to walk a mile or 2 just to take pictures of the tulips hahaha. I realized that your 6th photo was upside down hehehe....and the tomatoes I wish I'm one of your neighbors that will get a bag of tomatoes on our doorstep :-)
ReplyDeleteHilareous, how have I missed visiting your blog? Funny bit about those annoying tomato growing commercials (at least your going to get high quality, "hanging" tomatoes, in your neighbors midnight offerings... around here we seem to pass out zucchini squash).
ReplyDeleteWe too have a Lowes... which I plan on haunting soon.
Plus I asolutely loved that episode of Lucy and Ethel stomping grapes!! (Wished I could join them, lucky Bagman, grape stomping... uh, nude?)
I'm happy you decided to follow my blog, (feeling priveleged, seen ya around following Reggie, Michelle, and John.) ;p
Oh my God, I remember the Lucy and Ethel grape stomping scene! Haven't thought about that in years. Garden centers make my heart race....
ReplyDeleteWhat a great, fun post! Yes, I do remember Lucy and the grapes!
ReplyDeleteI want a glass of wine now... :)
ReplyDeleteHi my name is Kim and I have a plant habit. I can't pass Home Depot (Sorry AirManMom-it's the deals that draw me in, and the abundance that seems to overflow into the parking lot) without stopping in to see what plants need a good home. I can't help it...the rows of pretty flowers seem to be begging me...
ReplyDeleteB&B, As usual, thanks for the entertaining post!
http://lifeiznow.blogspot.com/
Gorgeous - I love tomatoes... And, ummm, the cleaning up of the grape juice from Bagman, how exactly are we to organise that?
ReplyDeleteI suggest a small working group - I and Reggie Girl, will examine solutions with Bagman in the first instance. Is that convenient, Sirs?!
Veru cool pics! I like the colors that some of them have in them. You have a great eye altogether.
ReplyDelete:-) love you sense of humor first of all. the pics are great at Lowe's. We have Lowe's, Home Depot and Menard's here in Michigan. Tuscany is beautiful. never been there so thanks for the visit!
ReplyDeleteExcellent shots!!! Fantastic colour...and such witty commentary to go with it! :)
ReplyDeleteIt wasn't Ethel in that vat of grapes with Lucy. It was another actress. (Teresa Tirelli). I read somewhere that they did not get along and sometimes the other actress held Lucy under the stomped grapes for a little longer than she was supposed to. Yikes!
ReplyDeleteI thought GingerV had taught you enough by now to know that screened in back porches are verandas. I'm a porch kind of guy, too. Do you think I could borrow the butler to ride some of our buses and take videos for my post this week?
ReplyDeleteI'll get a free ride on an alligator for him.
Thanks for the adventure in Italy
Thank You so much for taking the tiime to view my blog and leave a message! I enjoy making new friends online and I see that we have much in common! I will visit your blog again! Enjoy your weekend! ~Missy
ReplyDeleteAhhhh, under the Tuscan Sun.... The grapes, the wine, the... Oh wait. Home Depot and Lowes. Right. Well, I have upside down tomatoes, but I did it on the cheap. I'll show them soon.
ReplyDeleteI love Tuscany AND I love Lucy in B/W - But of course I only know the episode from seeing the reruns - no way am I old enough to remember the original - or is I am too old to remember....?
ReplyDeleteI love the garden centers in the States - miss early morning walks through them so I enjoyed these very much.
Do I get the booby prize for being one of the last "original" posters?
ReplyDeleteI like your twist on gardens. Why didn't I think of that? Easy, colorful, to the point, and no gas wasted running around all over the place.
What I want to know is why didn't the security cameras pick up on you. I am surprised you were not run off. Wally World doesn't like people taking photos. I know, you could have blamed it on Bagman and walked.
I love the Italy photos. I wish I were there? How about you, Bagman?
Enjoyable post, my friends.
Have a wonderful Sunday.
Oh, I love the grapes!!! How neat!
ReplyDeleteThat looks just like the garden center where I was hanging out yesterday.
ReplyDeleteI love the photos!
Tuscany? *sigh*
You did not post the photo of Bagman dancing?
ReplyDeleteGreat photos and story.