For the Love of Gardening

It is that time of year again.

This is the time of year that I get to spend a great amount of my day out in the garden. My little piece of paradise.

There is so much to do in the garden, and I love every minute of it.

Whether it is digging in the dirt, planting a new plant, caring for a well loved plant that has been around for quite some time, or simply walking around the garden. I love sitting on the patio or a bench smack dab in the middle of the garden with coffee or sweet ice tea in hand, seeing the beauty that my hard work has created all the while, breathing in nature's fragrances or tasting of her sweet juicy goodness.

There is always something to do in the garden.

Some things are dreaded, but necessary to keep the garden in tip top shape.

These things include pruning, weeding, fertilizing, mulching, dead-heading, watering as well as keeping pest and diseases under control.

The list goes on and on..but did I mention that I love it? Except for the times the Japanese beetle come buzzing around my head. Or the crunchy slimy grossness of snail under feet.

One of my favorite things to do, is to gather bountiful blooms from my own garden.

My arrangements are by no means perfect, the flowers are natural, not stiffened with wire as a professional florist would use to make the perfect arrangement. But to me they are perfect in every way.

The blooms add beauty and a sweet smelling fragrance to my home.

They are most often arranged in a mason jar, a round glass fish bowl, a galvanized tin french bucket, tea pot or a tiny tea cup.

Vegetables and herbs play a very important part in my garden.

Although, the vegetable garden is very small, due to such a small space. I do like trying my hand at growing my own.

On a small scale I usually grow tomatoes, peas, green beans, bell peppers, Japanese egg plant and zucchini. I look forward each year to my very first fresh from the garden tomato and mayo sandwich. This year I only set out three heirloom beef steak tomato plants. They are planted in a round galvanized tub. equally spaced using a metal trellis . I use strips of fabric to tie to the trellis. The three plants should provide just the right amount of tomatoes for my family.

Having said that, there are other ways to get around having a small vegetable/herb garden space.

For example: I have taken to planting potatoes in a large garbage can. I fill the can about half full with soil, place potato seedlings on the soil. Cover with more soil. At harvest time, I lay out a large tarp, turn the can over emptying the contents onto the tarp, remove the potatoes and return the soil back into the garbage can to be used at another time.

Herbs like lavender and nasturtium blend in very well in a sunny flower bed. It is not unusual to find a container of strawberries or any other edible plant placed here, there or anywhere in a random sunny location, as long as it grows well in a pot. In the back of the flower bed , one may even see pole beans grow up a makeshift trellis.

Herbs tend to be scattered around and can be found in just about any flower bed.

I love planting herbs such as peppermint, oregano, lemon balm, etc., along a walkway or garden path. Not only are they easy to snip when I need them for cooking, but I love the scents they give off as I meander along.

My garden and planting ideas change from year to year. I tend to be haphazard in my planting, although, I do keep certain criteria in mind, such as, height, full sun, partial shade, etc.

Who is that strange looking person out in the garden?

That would be me...

Working in the garden means being out in the harsh summer rays of the sun....I need protection from the damage it causes to my skin.

That being the case, I can be seen at any given time, all greased up, slathered in sun block, face, shoulders, arms, legs and any other exposed body part. And.. to top it off I will be wearing some kind of goofy looking hat on my head...

It may be a wide brimmed hat, a baseball cap with my ponytail pulled thru the back. Or it may be a bandanna. I am not a hat person, I do not look good in a hat...but it is what it is ! Which ever one it happens to be, you can be sure that my hair is plastered to my head, my face smudged with dirt. My clothes are old rags that need to be thrown out....but that is just the outfit I need when working in the garden, who cares if they get muddy and pretty gross? ..But the blue rubber Sloggers on my feet are super cute and when they get dirty, they can easily be rinsed off with the water hose.

I'm also wearing a pair of grungy looking gloves and carrying around a galvanized bucket, containing all the small tools I need to get the job done.

My garden is very informal, a cottage garden of sorts. It is a mixture of flowers, herbs and vegetables. No rules. I just plant where the mood strikes, if I don't like it there, I dig it up and plant it somewhere else. Many of my plants are volunteers. Meaning they just popped up and started growing, from a seed that was spread from an existing nearby plant, sometimes a seed that has been dropped by a bird or maybe the wind blew in. Many are cuttings from a friend or a neighbors garden.

I love visiting other peoples garden. There I learn about new plants, when seeing what they have done in their gardens it inspires me to work in mine.

I love gardening magazines and reading the home and garden section in Saturday's addition to my local newspaper.

I read gardening blogs and constantly check out gardening websites.

And before you know it.....

The growing season has come to an end. The flowers have stopped blooming, The vegetable plants have gone to seed, the leaves have fallen from the trees. The winter chill is in the air forcing me to spend more time indoors.

But it really does not end there.

It seems like the end but in all honesty, this is just the beginning.

My garden begins with a dream.

This is the time spent dreaming about the beautiful and bountiful garden that I will have next growing season.

Time to plan what will grow where. What new plants I want to purchase. Deciding should I try this seed or that seed.

This is the time to make list.

Yes, I am dreaming of armloads of beautiful flowers and baskets full of fruits, vegetables and herbs.

This is the time to read the tons of gardening magazine and books that have been stored away.

While others are dreaming of a white Christmas, I am dreaming of a beautiful garden.