Wednesday, October 6, 2010

If It Grows and I Can Eat It I Will Accept It

This past weekend I spent time in my garden weeding it, removing those annoying pine needles, tending to the plants only to discover again that my plants are strong. Despite the little time I spend in my garden it still gives me something for my time.

In my garden, the one in the front yard (part of it right in front of the window), my pink rose bush is exploding with pink roses and covering the bush in petals. My red velvet roses are divine, a breath taking sight every time I look at it. I have a few other roses not blooming quite as much, but I suspect they will be soon.

I usually hate any produce flower fragrance, but when it's natural and soft like this it is so sweet. My pink roses are my post fragrant and near my front porch, so between the pink roses, the basil, the rosemary and jasmine I love walking to my front door.

Speaking of rosemary and basil... these beautiful herb plants are dark green and growing quickly. I will have to trim them again. I only wish the basil was as sturdy as the rosemary. My basil will begin to wilt if it gets too dry (this happens easily) or too hot. Then there is my two year old son who loves to yank the leaves and eat them. He loves the way they smell too and sticks them right up his nose. I wish most plants were as sturdy as the rosemary. My rosemary has survived freezing and hot weather. It is at it most beautiful and green in the fall.

My jasmine is growing wild. I had to trim it. Then I took the clippings and stuck them in dirt in other parts of my yard. I have yet to successful transplant jasmine clippings. I hope it takes this time.

I almost forgot to mention... there is a pepper plant between the basil. I'm not sure what kind of pepper, but it is as tall as the basil. Oh! and my cauliflower from last year (it survived the winter, but barely the caterpillars love it) has not produced yet. So, I'm not sure what it will look like or do. I'm very anxious to find out. Oh, yes and also the struggling broccoli survived. I honestly thought by now it would just wilt and die away, but instead it grow new beautiful leaves and then the caterpillars eat them.

My theory is that when the colder weather begins to move in, as it has for this past week, the caterpillars will go in hiding or die or maybe I will find out it isn't caterpillars, but something else eating away the leaves. If it is caterpillars, when the cold weather drives them away the broccoli and cauliflower will produce some vegetables.

Just in case they don't I used last years broccoli seeds to grow some more. I also used last year cilantro and lettuce seeds to grow these as well. Today when I watered my garden I saw many new seedlings. I was so excited I think I jumped a little.

Should I continue to write about my back yard? These details are exciting to a terrible gardener like me. As if asking, "If a lazy gardener like me can grow a garden, why can't everyone else?".

My crazy garden bed in the back has a carrot, two lettuce plants and two struggling green bean plants growing in it. I plucked a very healthy green bean from the plant and brought it inside to take a picture, but I think one of my kids got a hold of it, because I couldn't find it later.

My cucumber, not in the garden bed, hasn't given me any more cucumbers, but there are yellow flowers popping open all over it. I think I'll see more cucumbers soon. I hope I will.

The mint in the garden is taking up a lot of space. Good thing, like the cucumber, it isn't in the garden bed. This week I used some of the mint clippings to make mint tea. It taste better when I boil it with cinnamon tea, but alone it isn't bad.

In the rest of the back yard garden I planted last years squash seeds near the flower bed. There was a variety and I wasn't sure what was what. I had an idea and a few were labeled, but at this point I really don't care what kind of squash. If it grows and I can eat it I'll accept it.

3 comments:

  1. Can't wait for more posts! Getting hungry just thinking about it!

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  2. Really enjoyed reading your garden post.

    I can relate to the backyard garden. Ours didn't do to well. But we made up for it on the huge garden on my sister-in-laws farm. Everything is pretty much done now. We brought home 14 pumpkins yesterday.

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  3. Nice article...I love my herb gardens, but I am not so good with veggies :)

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