A Photo Tour of My Garden

One could argue that all of life is an experiment. Even when you repeat things, it is just another test...

Okay, seriously. I don't have anything to talk about today. I just wanted to give you an update on my garden! My long-term goal is to grow all of our produce and fruit, or at least 90% of it. I probably won't grow things like asparagus and potatoes. Or corn. I probably won't grow corn either. They all just take up too much space! And potatoes are cheap. And corn sucks every last bit of nutrients out of the soil, and nobody likes that.

Aaannywho. This year I have an actual growing garden! Woo Hoo! I am very excited about it, and have a bunch of pictures to show you! We've actually been eating out of it for a little over a month already. :) Pretty good for the beginning of May, if you ask me, and you did. Because you are reading this. That's how this works, right? I didn't get pictures of the beets and spinach because I harvested before I decided to take pictures. They look a bit miserable without really any leaves. But everything else is looking great! Here, see for yourself!

This is the main garden bed. I've got a little 4x4 next to it, but I didn't get a picture of that one. It's not looking as good as this one.

This is probably my favorite picture of the day! This is one of the cucumber plants. Hopefully we will get some cucumbers, but that will only happen if the squash doesn't take over first!

Ah, one of the first of many mystery plants! Google (the dog) ran through the bed right after I planted all of my seeds. Is this broccoli or brussels sprout? Only time will tell! Muhahahaha!

Here is the beginning of what will be a TON of summer squash! I've got 5 plants, and they are taking over the bed. Hopefully other things will grow, too! The leaves are the size of dinner plates. It's a bit ridiculous. I guess it is a good thing that we like squash, right? Also, sorry for small picture. It looks blurry when it's big.

This is a picture I am very proud of! I'm growing Royal Burgundy Beans! They are kind of like green beans, only purple! At least, I think so. But isn't that bloom gorgeous! And the bushes are covered in them. Purple is my favorite color, so I am extra excited!

Please excuse the blurriness on this one, too! The beans are so small that I couldn't get my phone to focus on them. It's the first pod of the season! Huzzah! Now if only I knew if they were green beans or lima beans...

We have now transitioned to the back porch railing. We are growing 2 kinds of mint: Sweet Mint (top), and Chocolate Mint (bottom). Last year we planted Spearmint, but it completely died over the winter. This year, I will bring the pots in at the end of the season. Aren't they pretty?

This particular tomato plant I am very excited about! We bought it as a seedling (the others were started from seed), and it has the first tomatoes on it! It has about a dozen already! When they are fully ripe, the top half will be a brilliant red, and the bottom will be so dark purple that it will almost look black. I hope they are yummy!

That's the very first one! Squeal of joy!

Now, this little herb WAS a mystery plant for a bit. I had thought I had planted thyme in this particular pot, but I was wrong! Oregano. Yummy, yummy Oregano!

This beauty I can't really take any credit for. My parents sent it to me as a present. It is Spanish Lavender! I'd only ever seen English and French Lavenders before, so this is extra cool. This winter after the flowers are done, I plan on taking and rooting cuttings. I have big plans for the front yard flower beds, but more on that some other time.

This little gem is something special. Several months ago, and by several it was maybe February, I had a very delicious lemon, so I decided that I would plant the seeds and just see what happened. I like experimenting like that. Well, I planted 4 of them, and nothing happened. And by nothing, I seriously mean nothing. I figured that hey, that's okay, it was just an experiment. So I planted some celery that I had rooted into the pot. Long story short, I thought this sprout was some celery that had come up from the roots, but it wasn't. The celery died, and this thing lived. Turns out it is a lemon tree!

And last, but not least, this picture was accidentally taken when I was cleaning off my phone screen. I just thought it was pretty cool.

Anyway. That's it! Well, that's not it, but this is already super long and people are busy. Thanks for touring! I'll share more as the season continues! And maybe have a recipe or two for you along the way!