I've come to find so much peace in gardening. Spending quiet time with nature. Seeing how much they've grown each day, and reaping their beautiful harvest. But despite my vegetable garden ambitions, everything I tried to grow from seed this year flopped like a fish out of water! They were either a no-show, kicked the bucket right after germination, or became a five-star buffet for the pests within a week after transplanting. Maybe if I had finished my fairy garden sooner, they would have spread some magic dust on my garden...
In the end, I waved a white flag in surrender and just splurged at the garden store. Fortunately my little store-bought veggie garden decided to throw some pity produce my way. Keep reading to learn more about what all I'm growing, and to see my new greenhouse!
2024 Garden Images (Expand > to View)
The Fruits
I hit the Blackberry jackpot this year! There were so many that I had to freeze several cups worth (after making popsicles, of course!). My red cherry and yellow pear tomatoes partied hard this year as well, and it looks like they're gearing up for another wild round. The Cherokee Purple tomatoes and a couple of watermelons are attempting to hit puberty soon. We'll see if they are up to the task.
My native elderberry bush is only 2 years old, but the size of Jack's beanstalk! It's been a wild ride with all the pesky pests trying to crash the party, but I still outsmarted them and scored a sweet little bushel of berries to use in medicinal syrup this fall. Take that, pests!
The Herbs
The Vegetables
RIP Little Dudes
Recipe Fresh from the Garden
Cucumber Tomato Salad
1 cup red cherry tomatoes
1 cup yellow pear tomatoes
1 large cucumber
5 large basil leaves
1.5 Tbs Balsamic Vinegar
3 Tbs light EVOO*
1/2 Tsp salt
1/4 Tsp pepper
*My hubby can't get enough of that Extra Virgin Olive Oil (EVOO) - he's practically married to it! That's why we're VIP members at The Fresh-Pressed Olive Oil Club. Every 3 months, they send us a trio of liquid gold (Light, Medium, and Bold) straight from a new country, complete with the juicy backstory of the oil maestros. It's like a delicious, nutritious, and oh-so-fancy global adventure in a bottle!
New Greenhouse
When a FREE greenhouse falls into your lap after years of yearning for one...you grab your husband's truck and hit the road before you even know where you are going! Long story short, one person's trash is truly another person's treasure. Spending 3 hours of manual labor to dismantle, clean, and rebuild it in its new home wasn't too bad for an impromptu project right before hosting 40 guests at your house. I plan to use this for starter seeds, as well as to protect some of my fruit from birds and rabbits until it's more stable. A special shout-out to B-hubs, who put in the real sweat equity!
What's in My Garden
At the moment, I'm working on building up a mini organic pharmacy, with 34 plants that can either cure you or end up in your salad bowl. I'm all about keeping it local with native plants and making sure my garden is not just pretty, but also tasty!
Fruits | Herbs | Medicinal/Cosmetic | Vegetables |
Blackberries | Basil | Aloe | Bell Peppers |
Blueberries | Lavender | Beebalm | Cucumbers |
Elderberry Bush | Mint (Pineapple) | Comfrey | Jalapeño Peppers |
Lemon Tree | Mint (Spearmint) | Echinacea (Coneflower) | Swiss Chard |
Raspberries (Golden) | Mint (Strawberry) | Lambs Ear | |
Serviceberry Tree Amelanchier arborea | Oregano | Lantana Verbena | |
Tomato (Cherokee Purple) | Rosemary | Lemon Balm | |
Tomato (Red Cherry) | Sage | Lungwort Pulmonaria | |
Tomato (Yellow Pear) | Thyme (Creeping) | Mugwort (Common) Artemisia vulgaris | |
Watermelon | Patchouli | ||
White Mulberry | Plantain (Ribwort) | ||
Solomon's Seal Polygonatum biflorum | |||
Witch Hazel |
LEGEND: Bought | Came with House | Gifted to Me | Grew from Seed | Volunteer
Lessons Learned
When it comes to plants, I tend to jump into the deep end head first, before learning to swim. I wasn't quite prepared for the scorching heat, rigorous fertilizing schedule, erratic watering needs and the gang of diabolical pests to show up like sneaky little ninjas in the night. But watch out, world, because next year I'm unleashing my green thumb powers on my garden!
I have a new weapon - a MASTER SPREADSHEET!! (You guys know how much I love my spreadsheets!) This gardening reference guide and planner from Kellogg Garden Products is so great that it makes me want to cry (happy tears - someone out there really gets me!) It is FREE, editable, and offers tips on when to sow/transplant/harvest each crop, what to do for soil/pest issues, and even a garden layout planner. Every gardener should own something like this! They offer free printable downloads as well.
I'll be kickstarting a little seed army in my new mini greenhouse (according to the suggested schedule in #1), snuggling them up to some eggshells when transplanting to their new homes, and showering them with DE and fertilizer all season long.
I also plan to play mad scientist and send some dirt samples to my local extension to figure out what kind of magic potion my soil needs.
Fall Garden?
Fall gardening is creeping up on us faster than a squirrel chasing an acorn! And although I'll probably throw in a little gardening here and there, let's be real – when winter hits, I tend to pull a disappearing act on my outdoor plants. If they've got the guts to tough it out without me, well, more power to 'em!
Let's Chat
I'd love to hear from you - have you ever taken a stab at gardening? How did it go for you?
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