“Authors in Bloom” Come #BlogHop w/us! #GardeningTips #Recipes & More! #DianneVenetta

Welcome to the 5th Annual Authors in Bloom Blog Hop!


First, some questions, answers and rules we need to get out of the way. Important. Please read.
As a hopper, what can I expect?
* Each author will be posting a giveaway and gardening tip or recipe or both! It’s a spring celebration designed to introduce you to authors and give you a chance to win prizes. Individual authors may offer more than one chance to win their individual giveaway, so increase your odds and enter them all!

What will be given away?
* Everything from books to swag, promotional products and more! The GRAND PRIZE is an ereader (up to $200 value). A second prize of $25 gift card (winner’s choice of ebook retailer), available to INTL residents (VOID where prohibited by law).
* Authors will note US or INTL for their giveaway eligibility. Where US or INTL is not specifically noted, US eligibility will apply. The grand prize is available for US entrants only. Winners will be announced on the landing page, BloominThyme.
* I will be giving away an eBook copy of the recipe book Evernight's Naughty Nibbles and a $5 GC to Evernight Publishing. International participants are welcome to enter for my blog prizes!

How do I enter for your prizes and the GRAND PRIZE?
* To be eligible for my prizes, you must leave a comment with your email address at the bottom of this blog post. It's mandatory via my rafflecopter widget. The other entry lines (twitter stuff and Facebook) are optional.
* To be eligible for the GRAND PRIZE, you must leave a comment with your email address at the bottom of this blog post. The email is only used to contact you should you win. You also must visit each and every author on the hop. Each site will post the links of participating authors but please feel free to visit www.diannevenetta.com to find the author link list at any point in time.

How do I make sure my grand prize entry is eligible?
* Grand prize entrants need to go and enter via the rafflecopter giveaway widgets, available on the initial landing page: www.diannevenetta.com and final landing page: BloominThyme of this hop to be officially entered. All entries (and actions on all the blog hop locations) will be verified to deem winners.

What do I do when it’s all over?
* By April 18th the grand prize winners will be posted on the main page and the landing page. Individual authors will announce and contact the winners of their author-specific giveaways. If you win, you will be required to claim your prize according to each giveaway’s terms and conditions.
* Giveaway ends April 16th at 11:59 PM EST. Open to Legal Residents (18 years of age or older) of the US only. Prizes cannot be shipped to PO Boxes. Grand Prize Winner and my blog hop winner will be selected by the respective Rafflecotper widgets and be notified by email. Winners will have 48 hours to respond before a new winner is selected. Please note that Dianne Venetta, host of the Authors in Bloom Blog Hop, is not responsible for sponsors that do not fulfill their prizes. Dianne Venetta has represented each sponsor with the expectation they will fulfill their prize and in a timely manner. Dianne Venetta will contact the sponsor regarding your prize(s). The sponsors, in most cases, are shipping their items to you directly. Dianne Venetta will make every effort to assist you in obtaining your prize. If there is an issue with a sponsor, please notify the blog you won a prize from within 30 days for assistance, after that we may be unable to assist you. The product provided for the review was free of charge from the company. The product offered for the giveaway is free of charge, no purchase necessary. My opinions, as are Dianne Venetta's, are our own and were not influenced by any form of compensation. Facebook, Twitter and Google+ are in no way associated with this giveaway. By providing your information in this form, you are providing your information to me and me alone. I do not share or sell information and will use any information only for the purpose of contacting the winner.” VOID where prohibited by law.

Now for some fun stuff! * Gardening. It's a tricky thing for me. I've never had much of a green thumb, but I keep trying to get gardens going--flowers, veggies, herbs, trees... I had trouble with it all when I lived in TX--hot, dry and sunny there. Didn't have the space to do anything in NJ when I lived there. Now I'm in the hot, sunny southwest. I attempted a container garden last spring. For a while there we had bell peppers, Anaheim chilies, jalapenos, tomatoes. I even had cilantro, basil and oregano as well. It was great for making salads and ingredients for my sauces. But, alas, I had my garden in a bad location and the sun and heat got the better of them all.
* A friend of mine had given me a stem cutting from her Wandering Jew (Tradescantia fluminensis). Yes, she knows the "color of my thumb" but told me they're hard to kill. Well... For a while I believed it had gone the way of my other plants, but today we were outside doing yard work, which is where I kept the WJ since we have a cat and I didn't want him messing with it, and low and behold, there was life! I freed it from the dead bits in the planter and the purple leaves now can get some sun, and hopefully, continue to thrive. To say the least, I'm amazed my "thumb" didn't get the better of it.
* The tips I've learned from my experience... Don't leave planters on the patio concrete, especially when it gets hot. Water. Like us, plants need it, too. Duh, right? The Wandering Jew needs some sun but also needs shade. Probably why it's thriving now since I'd moved it last year, where it could get water from a sprinkler and shade from a tree.
* I've cleaned out a section on the side of our house where it gets some morning sun, afternoon shade and has drip irrigation available. I plan to try my veggies there, along with some herbs, this year. There's another spot that we're hoping to clear soon where we'll grow hops and flowers. Then there are the trellises we're looking to put up for climbing vines to create a privacy fence of sorts.
* If it all works out, perhaps next year I'll have some pictures to post for the hop. Fingers crossed!
* Suggestions on what to comment about so you're entered for the prizes ~ Let us know your favorite gardening tip or your favorite flower or favorite food...or if something else comes to mind you'd like to share, that's fine, too! And, don't forget to leave your email address. :)
Thank you for joining us here today! Here's the linky list to find the other blogs to hop to!
To enter my contest and to make sure you're entered for the Grand Prize, please use the prompts found here: a Rafflecopter giveaway