Green Thumb??

In honor of Earth Day, I thought I would post some pictures to show our resolve to beautify our little plot of earth. Embarking on something new is always dangerous and this is especially true with regards to gardening for us because until now we could plead ignorance instead of lack of talent. We did a lot of yard work two weeks ago and the things we planted are surviving nicely- much to my excitement. Charlton said (and rightly so) that we should make sure that these do well before investing time and money in a whole new landscaping project (the flowers we planted last year died in less than 2 weeks). They look pretty good so far so maybe it's safe to continue??? I'll keep you updated on how the gardening is going. I always wanted to plant Caladiums when I had my own home-- I just love them I don't know why??? They seem like a very Southern kind of plant to have in your flowerbed.

(Before)

(After- we planted the same thing on the other side of the sidewalk)

I'm also trying to find other ways to make us a little more environmentally conscious around here. Our neighborhood just started a recycling program which is great, and we already use energy efficient light bulbs. I just bought some of the Green Works cleaning products (made by Clorox); they are from plants and minerals instead of chemicals which will be nice with little kids around too. I'm interested to see if it cleans as well as the regular stuff-- has anyone tried it? I'm also planning on getting some cloth shopping bags (I think they're selling them at about every grocery store in Houston this month) to use instead of plastic ones. I'm not sure how practical it is to think that I'll actually remember to take them into the store with me but it's the effort that counts.