Wander through the Garden

Little ol' me, barefoot & with my hair in my face, of course.

With dreams of our farm in my head, visions of goats, honey bees, and dirt, I wander about the small container garden we have. There are 20-some pots this year (mind you, that's counting the garden outside only, not the jungle inside, of which a tour wil have to wait till another post...) with a mix of veggies, herbs, and flowers.

A good many of the plants are perrenials, some ones that I've had for years (eight years on the longest) though many of them, this year, are brand new to the family. I'm hoping they'll last the coming Winter.

So, come along on a little tour of my and my family's garden.

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Spearmint bush, if only you could smell it.

Directly outside the front door is a medium sized pot of Spearmint. This started out as three small plants that I took from a flower bed and work a few months ago. Those three small plants quickly became this bush that topples out of the pot. And it's still growing...
 
One of the interesting things about Spearmint, I think, is that it reproduces adventitiously. That means it produces underground runners that quickly become another plant or ten. This means that one small plant can easily take over your garden in just one season, making it an excellent container plant.

I must admit, that I often step outside just to run my hands through its leaves, releasing the oils. The smell is amazing, comforting and invigorating at the same. Harvesting this plant will a joy, as I have so many crafts planned with it.

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Cherry Tomato and Heirloom "steak" Tomato

Behind the Spearmint are the tomatoes.

There are two pots: one an heirloom plant, the other a cherry tomato plant. The heirloom has a couple of tomatoes slowly getting larger while the cherry is covered in little green beauties. Soon, soon.

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In about a week this tomato will be relocated to my belly. Mmm...

Newly opened Pepper blossom.

Behind the tomatoes is a plant deserving of happy thoughts. Of all the plants in our garden, this poor little Pepper plant is the only one that a small chipmunk (a male, he lives under our deck) has decided to terrorize.

Each night, if I leave this Pepper outside, he comes and digs in this pot, not stopping until roots are exposed and torn up. And he even chewed off a small pepper ...but didn't eat it.

I have dubbed him the "Cheeky Bastard" and am looking for humane ways to relocate or detur him. Do, please, send suggestions if you have any: my Pepper would most appreaciate it.

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There must always be Geraniums in my garden. Always.

On the other side of the front door is one of the decorative pots. Well, it's not so much a "pot" as a black bucket (like we would have used to feed baby calves on the farm when I was little) with a white rope handle. But, waste-not-want-not: it makes a great planter.

Anyway, said bucket is home to my Geranium, given to me by my mother (which is how I seem to only ever aquire Geraniums...) Nestled in with it is a Marguerite Sweet Potato vine, which, while not producing sweet potatoes (rats!) has beautiful light green leaves and it is slowly climbing it's way up the deck railing. In time, I am hoping that little vine will create a wall of green there.

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Marguerite Sweet Potato Vine with friend.

Aurora waters the pot of wild flowers she helped plant.

Lovely little leaf lettuce.

Next is the lettuce. It's just a small rectangular pot with six plants in it, but they're doing great. We're already enjoying a nice, occassional harvest. And, miraculously, the bugs have left it alone. Nevermind the chipmunk who keeps digging in the corner, though... 

On Summer Solstice, the children and I planted another large rectangular pot with Spinache seeds. That should leave us with a nice harvest this Autumn. I can't wait until the Spinache begins to grow, I'm already dreaming of salads and sandwiches.

Moving on, there is a large pot of wild flowers the children dug up in the backyard and a large vine that put itself in the pot. I believe it's a member of the Bindweed family, perhaps a mutated variety; there are quite a few mutated varieties of common plants in this area, my favorite being the wild Chammomile that blossoms without petals.

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Perky little Dill plant.

There's a medium-sized pot of Dill next. This plant was a gift from my mother. It was the last one at the store and looking rather poorly. She has a soft spot for sad plants (like me) and thought I would be able to help it. So far, it has perked up nicely.

There are two small eggplants next, the "Wonder Egg" variety (yes, the novelty ones that were marketed heavily at drugstores during the Spring.) Their about six inches tall and no where near ready to blossom yet. I had a few more pots of these, but I gifted them away. I love being able to give plants away. By the way, if you're in the area and would love an Aloe...

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I love the purple and green coloring of this cabbage.

This is some sort of decorative Cabbage. Sadly, I do not know what variety or if it is edible but it's growing rapidly and has beautiful large-ish leaves. The coloring is a nice contrast to the darker green leaves of the other plants in the garden.

I am hoping this plant gets much larger, I want it to become one of those plants we will have to navigate around when trying to get in and out of the house. Of course, my husband is not of a like-mind in this matter...

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See the little buds? Gotta pinch those babies off.

Along the railings of our deck, there are three flower boxes. One of which is the Spinache the children and I just planted. Another is also waiting to sprout, this one planted with Oregano, Vervain, and Sage. I can't wait for these little babies to come up.

The last of the three is also filled with herbs. On the left is Marjoram, which will have its first harvest soon. I've been pinching blossoms for about a week and a half now, so it definitely is time.

In the center is Parsley, which is filling out wonderfully, teasing me as it isn't quite ready to harvest any more than the random fresh sprig.

On the right, is Lemon Basil. This is my first encounter with this variety, as I've only ever grown regular Basil. But, I am loving the flavor change with this Basil, though it is much smaller.

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Happy little Parsley, enjoying the Sun.

Lemon Basil, shrubbier than regular varieties.

Just a few more weeks and there will be bright orange blossoms on this Gerbera Daisy.

Last in this little photo tour is one of two Gerbera Daisies. This, the younger one, is about a year old. It was a Mother's Day present from my children last year. This one blossoms orange, while the older one (nearly 8 years old) blossoms red.

There are a few other plants, as well, that I didn't show, not to mention some decorative items, such as our large I-Ching coin stepping stones.

I hope you enjoyed this random little walk through my garden.

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