Gardening in South Alabama is competitive. Everyone is out there hunting for the best plants to grow in the best soil to show off the best flowers or the most delicious veggies that you have ever seen. But me, I'm just trying to keep stuff alive. More green than brown is the goal of every black thumb. Every family has a black thumb gardener, I'm mine. Every plant you give me, I will kill.  Every plant I purchase will die. It is a cosmic truth. This spring, join me on a journey where I try to overcome my Black Thumb and make my Momma proud.

I started with seeds because that's what all the know it alls do - so here I am following their advice. My super awesome husband went out in search of the best seeds and the best containers so our plant babies can have the best start. The seeds and containers then sat in their protective store packaging for two weeks in a place that we each would pass by each day over and over again. Then one day, while I was out photographing South Alabama babies - I came home to find a planting party happening in my driveway. Yes, it was probably best to leave the black thumb out of this one. But I vowed to water them twice a day. And I did. For weeks. And then, out of no where, we had babies!

And as it turns out the planting party yielded a wide variety of veggies. Seriously, I will rival the market with varieties and colors of tomatoes, peppers, cucumbers, okra, squash, some herbs and more. And they grew... Everyone picked something they wanted to grow. Madison picked Zucchini, Michael picked tomatoes, Jefferson picked pumpkins - he's five, he'd grow a roller coaster if we'd let him, I picked Jalapenos and Grant picked Cilantro. Grant wants to have a salsa garden and if you tasted his salsa, you'd want him to have one too. Jackson chose nothing because High School Seniors are too busy to garden and they don't think gardening has purpose. I mean, he's going to always buy what he needs from the grocery store forever. I think he may have my black thumb.

So I've got all these beautiful seedlings basking in the hot Alabama sunshine and they are growing. Can you believe it!?! But do I have a place for them to live? NOPE. No flower beds. No tilled rows of farmland. That means they are surely going to die. Again. Sigh. But the husband came to the rescue and started building plant houses. He's a pretty crafty guy.

Magically scrap wood and pallets become this water treated masterpiece. A beautiful home or a new coffin for our plant babies. It's still too early to tell. I got around to planing them this week with a formula of perfect dirt and fertilizer from my Green Thumb Mother. (Moms always have advice.) They look pretty good.

Somewhere in the mixing of the dirt and the miracle grow and the South Alabama Wind gusts, I got some dirt in my right eye. Talk about embarrassing. Every studio portrait session this week, starts with a tale of the Hazzards of Gardening in South Alabama. Yep, it's still red. And embarrassing.

If you have some gardening tips, send them my way. A black thumb needs all the help she can get. Leave them in the comments below - not every black thumb will ask for help, but they might read this blog.

Daphne Ellenburg is award-winning Newborn and Baby Photographer. She is the owner of a bustling Portrait photography business called Ellenburg Photography located in Southern Alabama. Daphne has a supportive family and a fancy-pants 2000 sq ft studio in the heart of Saraland, Alabama. She loves college football, big handbags, lip gloss and all things Apple. She also enjoys writing about her Photo-Adventures and her entertaining family. Daphne is a proud member of PPA, WPPI, and the local chamber. Catch up with her at EllenburgPhotography.com or email her at daphne@ellenburgphotography.com. 
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It's official. South Alabama's leading Newborn, Children, and Family photographer, Ellenburg Photography has a brand NEW website. I couldn't be prouder of all the hard work that went into today's NEW website launch. The new website has everything you've asked for: more information, more groupings, easier access to the thing you love. 

Enjoy a peek at a little of our new home page. Explore the site and let us know what you think. We've added more breakdowns for all the newborn things we photograph like: Hospital and In home Births, Fresh 48s, Studio Newborn Sessions and In home sessions for your newborn. We've added breakdowns for all the milestones during the BIG first year like: the Push up, the Little Sitter, Holding ON, the Little Stander and the Cake Smash. We've added new pages for Big Kids, Families, High School Seniors, Weddings and Headshots. We are featuring new packages for Headshots and Weddings. Every page has a link to book a portrait consult when you enjoy the information on the page. You are going to LOVE the new website.

Daphne Ellenburg is the owner of a bustling Portrait photography business called Ellenburg Photography located in Southern Alabama. Daphne has a supportive family and a fancy-pants 2000 sq ft studio in the heart of Saraland, Alabama. She loves college football, big handbags, lip gloss and all things Apple. She also enjoys writing about her Photo-Adventures and her entertaining family. Daphne is a proud member of PPA, WPPI, and the local chamber. Catch up with her at EllenburgPhotography.com or email her at daphne@ellenburgphotography.com. 
We love to read your comments.