Don't you just love a garden? To me a garden is many things. Of course is a place that we can grow our food and know that it is food that is good for us, but it is also a place of solitude and peace. It is also a place of beauty, a place that we can see The Wonder of God's creation and His plan. Dying to live and seed time and harvest.
I encourage you to plant a garden. It doesn't have to be big, Just plant.
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Why a picture like this? All it appears to be is fresh plowed ground. You are right. That is exactly what it is. But look a little closer. The dirt on the left is fairly smooth with no footprints. The dirt on the right is definitely fresh plowed, but is also full of footprints. Well, you know age makes the difference. The ground on the left was tilled by my son (40) who walks beside the tiller so there are no footprints (this is how his Dad (62) tills too). It is easier to "bust the rows" when there are no footprints, since we do that with an old fashioned push plow. The ground on the right was plowed by my 19 year old grandson ( you know the one who thinks he knows everything :)). I just think it is a great picture of how if we will learn as we get older our lives can be so much smoother. What do you think?
This is Stevia. I planted this quite a few years ago not knowing that it would come back again year after year. It has also re-seeded itself. It is in my original herb bed. I am going to re-work this whole bed this year, but I will leave the stevia and the rosemary. They seem to like it where they are. Why mess with success?
The strawberries are a little late. We used to have them here but have not had any for several years. Decided to start again. Looking pretty good :) The little plants you see coming up are Perriwinkles. This bed has been both a flower bed and a garden bed. the Perriwinkles re-seed themselves.
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This is my "old faithful" Rosemary plant in my original herb bed. It has been there almost 11 years. It has kind of gotten out of hand. This is a well protected area and has never had a problem with the cold.
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Topsy Turvy hanging on the jungle gym. We play around with these from time to time. We have also made the same thing out of a 5 gal. bucket
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Already have a baby!! These are grape tomatoes. To me they are like eating dessert. Yum. Actually, there is one on each plant.
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Lemon Balm early spring. It had died back completely during the winter
Same with this Pineapple Sage. Died back completely. Just coming thru
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End of April - Pineapple Sage in center of picture and Lemon Balm in lower right. By the end of the season, the P.S. will be about 3 ft. tall and the L.B. will be about 2 ft. tall and they will both be much more bushy. Both of these make great teas as well as flavoring different dishes. Lemon Balm can also be used as a "medicinal" herb.
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4x8 raised bed with baby Bright Lights Swiss Chard. Early Spring. The hoops were there for the winter so the veggies inside could be protected from the freezing. We would put plastic over the hoops and secure it around the bottom.
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Much bigger Bright Lights Swiss Chard and some regular Swiss Chard not quite as big. In the back is Kale. This is the end of April. The black on the ground to the right is shade cloth connected to a pipe that in the worst heat of the day I pull up and over to protect these plants a little because they don't like so much direct sun in the heat of the summer. They will eventually be pulled up for a more heat tolerant crop. Haven't decided what yet. :)
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Just a close up look at the spearmint. Mint runs and takes over. That is why each mint is in a 4x4 by itself. I have another one that is Peppermint.
Early Spring - Spearmint in 4x4 raised bed
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Same bed at the end of April. Combine this with some of the lemon balm to make lemonbalmade & you have Yummy!!!
New peppermint bed
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This is my herb bed in the early spring. all that made it through the winter. With the exception of the new Parsley yet to be planted. All the chives (garlic & common), Parsley, Lemon Balm & Pineapple Sage are doing well.
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This is the same bed at the end of April. Planted the 1 pot of Parsley, some Sage, Thyme and a couple of Basil Plants. You can see the difference just a little while makes. Before long, you won't be able to see the dirt in this bed. :)
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