From Black Thumb to Green Thumb

Our purple and lemon basil- Great for
beginner gardeners to plant in spring
and summer!

There are a great deal of people out there who claim they supposedly kill every plant they touch, but do they really? Though the term 'black thumb' is really a metaphorical phrase since one does not literally have a black thumb, but nobody is naturally born with the ability to grow plants with the blink of an eye either. What really causes someone to have a 'green thumb' or a 'black thumb?' Well, this article is for you if you'd like to know the answer to that!

Some of the most common reasons why people kill plants aren't usually because "they don't know what they're doing," but it's typically because gardening requires dedication and responsibility, very much like raising a child, though plants will not cry and scream if they are thirsty or if they're too hot or too cold. Instead of communicating verbally, our plants show us with their leaves, stems, produce, and/or petals if something is wrong. Plants may wilt or brown if not given enough water, white powder may overtake the plant's leaves indicating powdery mildew, stems may wither and wilt if it's too hot or cold, and so on. Reading what your plants are telling you is the most important step in gardening. Never be afraid to learn more about gardening if you are unsure! Even expert gardeners do constant research through books, magazines, and online to learn more about plants or even specific diseases that may be taking over their garden, or they may even discuss it with other friendly gardeners.

Of course, there are simple and obvious responsibilities to follow when taking care of a plant. Sufficient water, accurate temperature, and overall responding to your plant's needs like mentioned above, but what makes a gardener a gardener shows in how they treat their plants.

Just know that someone is not born a plant killer or deemed to have a 'black thumb' for the rest of the lives; anyone can be a green-thumbed gardener if they are able and willing to take on the responsibility of keeping a plant alive. It all starts with how you treat the plant(s), and it can be quite fun and simple if you give the plant what it needs to survive. In simpler terms, remember the four S's to gardening- correct Season, Sun, Soil, and Solvent (water). Those are the simple ingredients a plant needs! Gardening isn't really all that complex like people say it is; it's only difficult if you make it difficult.

I must admit, as a child, I once too had a 'black thumb,' or so I thought. I never thought I'd have the ability to keep a plant alive, or anything at all alive! All it took was a love and a consistent practice of gardening that earned me my green thumb. It wasn't a genetic trait after all!

Beat your 'black thumb,' buy a few seed packets, grab a pack of soil, and slip on your gardening gloves. Planting can be exciting and easier than you think. Most of all, enjoy!

Don't forget these four S's mentioned earlier!:

• Season
• Sun
• Soil
• Solvent

Gloomy Days, No Rays, But Plants that Still Amaze

We have a TON to share. We haven't posted in a very long time, so here's what we have to say today! Though it's midway through winter, our plants are going strong. Our first time winter planting has been a success, and we're very excited for what spring has to offer us!

More updates soon- We're also thinking about doing some posts related to gardening tips, healthy eating, recipes, ect. We think it will be a great touch to our blog. We may even start making videos for those who would like to become skillful gardeners! We have a lot to share with you all.

Our calendulas survived the frost, cold, heavy fog, and a few
rain storms over the past few months. They're growing strong
and looking gorgeous with their neon yellow petals!

It's been VERY gloomy, cold, and foggy within the past week
or two. Our plants desperately need some sun!

A lot of our bulbs are sprouting! This one is a daffodil.

Our drumstick allium bulbs are doing fantastic! Planted in late
autumn, and they already sprouted fantastically. We're in shock
at how far along they are.

Our pansies are doing great, though they can grow slow! Excited
to see the frosty blues bloom especially!

Our spearmint is finally taking off. It was also a slow growing
plant for us, but it's been growing like crazy lately, sometimes
even doubling in a few days!

We love seeing buds on our pansies!

Our carnations are very close to blooming as well, despite the
cold and sunless days! We never grew carnations, so we're very
excited to see them.

Sweet peas are doing great too! We have over a hundred including
these seedlings. It's overwhelming, but we know they will be
beautiful when they bloom.

First time ever, we grew sugar snap peas and Asian melting
sugar peas! They grow fast, and they tolerate frost. It's a
win-win situation for winter gardeners!

Our ranunculuses are getting huge! Hopefully close to blooming.
Ranunculus would make some gorgeous cuttings!

Transplanting some cilantro. Our cilantro is selling faster than
it's growing! It's a big hit at the market.

Here's our little "trick," I guess you can say, for making sure our
plants get enough sun. We have plastic shelves with wooden
dollies on the bottoms that we purchased from a hardware store,
so we can wheel them out to get some sun! No sun now, but they
plants do appreciate being out in the open.