The annual garden post

Here we are again, it's garden time. My last two summer garden attempts have been major failures (thanks to a newborn and then a one year old who still wasn't walking all summer). But this year I'm determined to make it work and stay committed to my garden maintenance (read: weeding). We have an awesome, large, and full sun garden space, so it's important to me to utilize it - and to get a little better at gardening every year.

Kenley and I went shopping last week and came back with a trunk full of plants, dirt, and a few tools. I even got a new sun visor that's a little dorky looking, but very effective.

garden, post-planting

 

I have been learning about gardening in the past 5 summers we've lived in this house - mostly through trial and error, googling, and advice from a few knowledgeable friends and family members. One thing I'm trying this year is to keep the number of plants to a minimum, so that I can focus on taking care of a few things well. Here's what we planted: sunflowers, zinnias, poppies, strawberries, zucchini, cucumbers, tomatoes, and pumpkins. I also planted a couple lavender plants and a border of marigolds, because I have read that their scent deters rabbits. I'm also going to sprinkle garlic powder and some of Sadie's dog hair around the perimeter to attempt to discourage those pesky bunnies.

My other focus is making the garden a more beautiful place to spend time (weeding). I took down the ugly rabbit fence that wasn't keeping them out anyway. Then I lined the outside edge of the garden with some edging bricks. I used some stone originally left over from paving our sidewalk and patio to make an entry path and an path around the strawberry patch. I also brought down our pig sculpture and lined a few flower pots along the edge. I hope this also makes the kids feel welcome to come into the garden. Lachlan seems quite excited about the whole process, and he helped me plant most of the seeds. Kenley is more hesitant, and still nervous about walking on ground that isn't very level.

Also, I wanted to grow some herbs in pots, but in the past when I put them down by the garden, I would forget to care for them. So this year I planted them right on the edge of our driveway - just outside of Sadie's invisible fence border - and in plain sight where I won't forget to water daily! Here I planted basil, mint, parsley, jalapeno, and a yellow pepper plant. Also a few pots of flowers, again, to keep things pretty.

Oh, and today's brainstorm was to toss all the seed packets into a baggie, so that I can keep track of them for reference if necessary, and to remember what we planted when next spring rolls around.

I'd be happy for any gardening advice you'd like to offer! Thanks for reading!