Garden Makeover & St. Patty's Day

My favorite holiday has always been St. Patrick's Day. I love the history of it, the food and the celebration. This year we lucked out with great weather. 

Chris' friend is in town and had never been to Annapolis! We couldn't have asked for a better day to show it off. 

We ate lunch at Pussers, out on their deck. Crabcakes, Oysters on the half shell, Maryland Crab Soup and Oyster shooters...YUM! These little ducks loved the crumbs we threw them.

We swung by McGarvey's for a green beer and headed up to Baltimore for the evening.

Sunday, we attempted to salvage the disaster that was our back yard. Our neighbors had their roof redone this year and the roofers kindly threw all of their waste off of the neighbor's roof and into our back yard. My housemate had removed all of that debris, but in the midst of that chaos, she discovered that terrible awful harbor rats had invaded our garden. She set out poison for them, but they left quite the mess. Check out the damage below!

I don't know about you, but in my mind, rats are probably the most disgusting, vile creatures that have ever existed. The thought of them rooting around my plants, in my living space, totally freaks me out. 

Chris and I made a Home Depot run and got to work. First, we salvaged a couple plants that had hung on through the winter, transplanting them into pots temporarily. 

Then, we emptied a ton of dirt from the raised bed and  replaced it with fresh soil, filling in all of the tunnels that the rats left behind.  

We planted dahlias, viola pansies, snap dragons, moon flowers, and morning glories and replanted the lavender we had transplanted. 

We also put out some strongly scented powder that supposedly is safe for plants but deters rodents. It contains bobcat urine...YUM!! 

(ugh, if I never have to deal with rats ever again, I will be very happy! I didn't even have to see the one that the poison killed! My housemate's boyfriend had to finish it off because it wasn't all the way dead, SOSOSOSO GROSSSSSSSSS)

Here's the after picture. Please ignore the wire going across the top of the picture! That was one of the presents we received from the neighbors' roofers. Chris climbed onto our roof though and was able to move it back where it belonged.

In the pots, we trimmed some herbs that survived the winter and planted a tomato plant. Chris surprised me with the hanging flower bed :) I love it! We filled it with violas and I'm hoping they end up growing over the edge and hanging. 

We planted some tulips in pots as well. I'm too impatient to wait for summer for blooms! Spring bloomers are necessary!

I was thrilled to see that my gerbera daisies are coming back this year. Luckily, we had such a mild winter! I really hope they make it. Next to hibiscus flowers, they are my favorite. They are just so bright and vibrant when they bloom!

Chris' hanging basket.

I started some more herbs and veggies from seeds, inside. Once they sprout, I'll bring them outside as well. 


What are you planting this season? Do you garden? If you don't, but would like to, what would you plant?

Weekend Getaway - Cape May

Saturday, we woke to ominous skies, heavy with snow, just waiting for the right time to begin.

We took Lucy to the beach and never made it out of the truck.

Chris decided to take an unconventional exit as we left the shore.

Boardwalks were not built to be vehicular overpasses, but sometimes in life, you take on a role you were never intended to have.

Lucy wasn't quite sure that we made the right choice, but we made it through with a couple inches to spare.

We grabbed some tuna and 3 dozen oysters for dinner with Chris' parents.

There is nothing more rewarding than eating oysters after shucking them yourself!

We saved the last 4 for oyster shooters, and then feasted on seared tuna over forbidden rice.

Delicious!

The snow finally arrived after dinner and we enjoyed our desserts and drinks fireside.

Sunday morning we woke to gorgeous sunny skies.

We meandered to the beach after church and found that the wind had picked up significantly!

It whipped sand into the air and shot stinging pellets at our faces.

The gusts were so strong that I had trouble keeping balance on the jetty!

We thawed at the Lobster House with bowls of clam chowder and lobster bisque after our beach adventure.

All in all, it was a great weekend escape.

I hope you enjoyed your weekends and stayed warm!