For the past several months my mornings have all begun the same way. In my garden, pajama clad and coffee cup in hand, inspecting newly ripened vegetables, preying on the insects preying on my vegetables, checking for new life . Anyone who has been here in person can attest to my excitement over the smallest developments. Those who visit our house expect the experience to begin in the backyard, whether they like it or not.
I’m not going to try to disguise just how proud I am over our backyard development. When we moved into our house three years ago we had nothing but mud– I longed for the days when it would fertile enough to even house weeds. Sad, right? We’ve come a long way since then.
In addition to the fact that this is my first year with a “real” garden (as in, a substantial size), this is my first year growing from seeds. All of these plants were once teeny tiny little grains in my hand.
Everything that slows us down and forces patience, everything that sets us back into the slow circles of nature, is a help. Gardening is an instrument of grace. -May Sarton
Cherry tomatoes.
When they were young I trained the plants so that grew up through the fence and trimmed them so that they laid flat. The end result is easy access to fruit without having to dig inside a cage. This is the way I will continue to grow them from now on.
Slugs ate every attempt I made at growing cucumbers from seeds. I eventually gave in and bought seedlings, meaning that I do have one set of veggies that aren’t heirlooms.
Stars and stripes melon. This plant is huge but only bearing two melons so far. Nerd alert: I have a personal attachment to this plant. It grows visibly larger every day and takes up an entire segment in my garden. He climbs up my herbs and nothing nearby is safe from his wandering tendrils. He’s a warm reminder that plants are living, breathing, moving.
View from the front. You can see from my jungle why I’m preferring the trellised cherry tomatoes over the cages. Most of the flimsy things are not nearly strong or tall enough to support my plants. Next year this system will have to be corrected, so any suggestions from you all would be appreciated.
A view from the opposite corner. The white bucket is one of my vermicomposting kits. I attribute this to the success of my garden and I am so in love with it. You can also see the big bushy melon plant.
My little buddy has been chilling on the dill for a few days now. I found out that he is going to turn into a Black Swallowtail Butterfly. Want your own? Be sure to include plants like dill, fennel, and parsley into your garden. (This is what they look like when they grow up.)
About Aubrey
Aubrey is the most awesome, caring and genuine Person I have even known.. smokin hot too;)!
Your garden was huge, I love it!
Gorgeous, gorgeous garden! I really like how you trained the fruit to grow along the wall, I’ve been wanting to try that. I have been gardening for 3 years and promised myself that next year will be my first time growing from seed, so this was great inspiration. As you begin your day, I often end mine – in the garden, coffee replaced with a wine glass, praying on those predators