Back to the Garden

I went back and forth about doing another container garden this year. Last year's garden was OK, not spectacular. But ultimately, I decided to try it again after a recent trip to Home Depot and visit to its garden center.

This year's garden consists of two types of tomatoes, basil, rosemary, and mint. I placed the pots in between the master bedroom windows, where they would be protected but get several hours of sun in the morning and early afternoon. We'll see, but so far so good.

While I'm on the topic of gardening, I thought I'd provide a some more information about Christmas cactus after Patricia posted some comments from Australia. Of course, "Christmas cactus" is a common name for this plant and may be marketed under different names in other places. They normally appear in North America as a flowering houseplant at holiday time, so having blooms this time of year is a bit unusual. The tag on the plant I photographed noted that it's a Zygocactus or Schlumbergera. Another one that also has its tag is a Rhipsalidopsis. Perhaps this information will help you locate Australian varieties.

By the way, I'm still sewing too! My current project is a prototype of a summer top from Simplicity 2254. I'm working out the sizing and trying to simplify the construction process. Like so many patterns, the instructions seem unreasonably complicated for this type of garment.