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I went shopping for some new jeans and found all sorts of clothes. Oh, I just love to buy clothes!! I have to be really, really careful when I go shopping because I can put a real bad spin on "shop til you drop". I don't need a bunch of clothes - but that doesn't mean I don't WANT a bunch of clothes!! Anyway, while I was trying on a blouse I noticed that I was getting a wee bit larger. Not a good thing. I'd like to blame it on the fact that most of the clothes I just happened to be trying on were made in VietNam but . . . I really don't think so!! So no bread for me this week!!!!
I've got the laundry finished now and my hamburger is almost thawed out for the stuffed peppers I'm making for dinner tonight so I'm on schedule but I'm in this "do nothing" mood. Motivation in this mood is like, nil; so, I decided it was time for a walk. I put my camera around my neck and decided I'd take a few pics while I was out and about.
I'm not a very good photographer, and never have been one to take very many pictures, but I'm trying to get more acclimated to the whole idea of putting pictures to my words and descriptions of plants. I know, myself, how difficult it is to picture what a plant looks like by a simple written description so I'm trying, friends - I'm trying. What I want to do is give you some idea what a plant looks like when it first starts to grow and then let you see it when it is at its prime or when it is in flower so you get a more complete identification idea of what it truly looks like. There are some herbs that are perennials and when you've planted them in your garden - you find yourself hunting for them the next Spring, because you didn't mark them, and if you cannot identify them you may very easily dig or pull them up and pitch them out.
Identification, for me, has been the key to my herb garden. Often my plants will drop seed or seed is carried by the wind or birds, and then I find it on the other side of the garden not even close to where I originally planted it but instead of having to go out and buy a new plant or plant more seed, by identifying it I can dig it up and move it to its own little area. During mild winters many plants that are not winter-hardy will die back and come back the next Spring and how in the world would you know that they were still alive? Plant identification!! Stevia is a perfect example. It is an annual and rarely reseeds for me, but during a mild Winter a few years ago I had almost a dozen stevia plants come up all by themselves. Luckily, I had started a journal and had written down where I had planted the original 3 plants of stevia and when I got in my garden and started raking I happened to look down and lo and behold, sure enough, little baby stevias. Such a joy!! So I will try and give you some pics to help you along and other than that, my best advice would be to keep a journal.
See Ya!