How Does Your Garden Grow?

by

If you have a garden and a library, you have everything you need. ~Cicero

We recently had our backyard cleared of bushes and tree stumps that have been needing to go.  Overall, the yard still needs help.  The previous owner had an in-ground pool and just threw dirt in it when they didn’t want it anymore.  So now we have a big cement crater that just needs to be broken up and taken away.  But hiring someone to do what is considered a small job? Hard to find.  But it’s too big for us to do ourselves.

Nonetheless, our backyard is coming along.  And it has afforded me the opportunity to finally plant my vegetable garden.  I have been so excited.  Researching what to plant, how to plant (we went with a square foot garden), when to plant, then planning, procuring, and executing.  It’s all been wonderful.

We started with this space:

img_29801

We cultivated the hard ground, added Metro-Mix, safe fertilizer, stepping stones (more to come in the garden so that we don’t step on the roots) to define the area and got this:

img_3266

Then we planted 2 creole tomato plants, eggplant, mustard greens, artichoke, thyme, basil, parsley, cilantro, and lemon verbena (to detract bugs safely) and got this:

img_3269

We will also be adding mirliton, okra, cucumber, and cayenne peppers.  It will take a lot of attention.  But I LOVE the idea of fresh vegetables and herbs, and the idea of tending to this garden, and that I’ll get to play in the dirt.

New Orleans is so darned fecund.  It’s been rated as one of the greenest (not “green”) cities in America.  We have trees on patios of skyscrapers.  Left unattended, the weeds and vines in this city will not only encapsulate an entire building, I am certain if you stand still long enough, they will capture you, too, and tie you down with roots too strong to be broken.

So am I hopeful this garden will flourish? You bet I am.

Share and Enjoy:
  • del.icio.us
  • Facebook
  • Google Bookmarks
  • Twitter
  • StumbleUpon
  • Technorati