Our Garden 2011

Every year I make some sort of Garden. I used to do container gardening in our old house, but haven't here since our backyard is mostly pool and patio. Last year I tried those hanging planters where the plant grows upside down- they didn't work for me so I was disappointed. My neighbor Traci was doing her garden and I volunteered to help her and was telling her how jealous I am that she has the space in her backyard to do it. And she said, "Why, you could build one on your side yard." And I thought about it for two seconds before realizing she was totally right. I had two rose bushes die from the freeze. So instead of replacing them, I went to Lowes and had the lumber guy cut me wood to build a garden. I got 18 bags of different composts, peet moss, and vermiculite and let the kids each pick out their own plants. We headed to three different nurseries to get all we wanted and then headed home to get to work.

The night before Frank left for Bham, he nailed the main box together for me (He looks thrilled doesn't he? He didn't quite understand why we needed a garden when while he was in Montana I decided to buy a crop share of a farm in Brenham- more on that later.)

While Frank was away, the kid and I got busy. Gavin was so into it. He would get off the bus every day and want to do something else with the garden. And each time he did, even if it was to water the plants, he put on his cowboy hat. LOL.

So, first we mixed all of the soil on a big tarp so it was all mixed well. 18 bags. Mixing this was better than any workout I've had in the gym. But I had a great little helper to help with the big task.

Then we started filling the containers with dirt:

Next we soaked the plants really well in water until no bubbles came up and then we planted them:

In this container below we have four different kinds of tomato plants, cucumbers, mint, eggplant, mild and hot jalapenos, mixed sweet peppers, basil, and cilantro. To the side we have an aloe plant, and rosemary.

This is our lettuce garden (four different kinds of lettuce):

Our Kumquat Tree:

And the tree I drove all over town to find, our lemonade tree. It's a cross between a lemon and an orange. And supposedly when you juice the fruit, it tastes like lemonade. I hope I am not disappointed because I am so excited about this little tree.

I am bound and determined to find a Meyer Lemon tree. After that, I think we are officially done. I am hoping it all takes off and we get to reap the rewards of our labor with some fresh fruit and veggies!! I'll keep you posted.