things that grow

once upon a time in a land that is in the middle of everywhere, there lived a very peculiar princess named nel. now, nel wasn't your typical princess, she lived in a comfy, cozy, little home, not a castle. she grew fruit trees and alfalfa, not a fancy english garden. she had a dog, not a unicorn. she dressed up for halloween, not for royal balls. nel, like most princesses, had wonderful, beautiful friends, but was still searching for her prince charming. this tale has nothing to do with that particular quest. no, this tale tells of all the things that grow in the magical soil surrounding nel's cottage.

one of nel's favorite friends, cristy, lives in a distant land that is full of lush, green, flowery plants. cristy had moved into her castle in the autumn, so when spring time bloomed, she was surprised to see all the delightful, colorful blossoms in her garden. she posted some photos on her blog to show princess nel.

now, the home which nel had moved into had been sitting unoccupied for years. the wicked witch placed a curse on the land. she filled the soil with prickly goat heads, annoying cheat grass, and weeds of all sorts. however, to everyone's surprise, many of the fantastically magical trees and plants had survived this horrible curse. so princess nel is able to experience some of cristy's joy.

nel's yard is nothing compared to cristy's, and sadly, she's allergic to most of it, but she really does try to enjoy the beauty.

this is a shot of her front yard. there are many different colors of roses. but nel's favorite things are the peach and apricot trees. the dirt area is where the vegetable garden is planted. it is in nel's yard, but of course she has a gardener who plants and cares for it. he just happens to be her neighbor.





most of the apricots froze this year, but nel did find a few on the tree. last year she got approximately 2 million, so she really wasn't expecting any this year.



here are some more roses and other flowering shrubs from the side yard.





the back yard has a little orchard. it contains a red apple tree, a green apple tree, a pear tree, current bushes, and a very cool looking tree that grows gigantic, nonedible green bean things, probably full of magical beans.



in the front of the house there is a huge evergreen shrub. it is taller than the house and it never gets trimmed, so it's slowly taking over the entire east side of the house. it really is an awesome shrub. it doesn't require much care, it's always pretty, and it's full of bees. those bees pollinate the fruit trees. nel is allergic to bees, too, so it's not good when they make their way inside the house, but she's glad they like her yard. they're wonderful to talk to.



the majority of the front yard, beyond the grass, is filled with alfalfa. nel's mom, queen b, is always trying to get her to get rid of it, but truthfully, nel doesn't understand what makes a person's lilac bushes any better than her alfalfa field. in fact, her alfalfa may be even better...it can be used to feed all sorts of animals. someday, maybe she'll do something about it, but for now it's gonna stay right where it is. if there are any readers out there who have animals (tortoise, sheep, goat, cow, horse, turtle, rabbit, unicorn, dragon, etc.) that like to eat alfalfa, please feel free to help yourself. it's a little late in the season now, but next spring, come on by.

and so, princess nel sits at home, with a huge supply of allavert, enjoying the beauty that is her yard. waiting for the butterfly bush to bloom, so she'll be able to watch the butterflies, fairies and dragonflies fill the yard. she's excited for the fruit trees to produce some edible treats. and of course, she's still looking forward to the day when she'll find the perfect prince, who just happens to like yard work.

the end.