A WALK THROUGH OUR GARDEN

Thanks to everyone who responded to my post about shaking text.  My quilting sister was able to get her computer cleaned up and the shaking is history.  

Country living isn't complete without some form of gardening.  Everywhere I go people are asking about my garden and me about theirs.  Except for the weather, gardening has to be the hottest topic in our little town right now.

Last year Jeff and I experimented by planting our tomatoes in 5-gallon buckets and we had the best tomato crop ever...that's right, ever!  Jeff drills a few holes through the sides of the bucket near the bottom for drainage and then fills the bucket with good soil.  Then the little spindly tomato plants are gently introduced into the soil and given a nice drink of water.  After a few weeks of sunshine and water we put stakes into the buckets and begin tying the longer branches with scrap quilting fabric torn into strips.  Here's a sample of what we have so far this year ~~

This year we have 14 buckets of tomatoes and three buckets of sweet yellow banana peppers.  We also planted zucchini, but they were planted into the ground because they get so huge.

Our buckets are lined up against the garage on the south side and all they will need is sunshine and water.  The benefits of bucket gardening are that anyone can do it, even if they don't have a yard; there are little to no weeds unless you have weeds in the soil before you plant; it's easier to harvest produce if you don't have to crawl around on the ground and the buckets can be moved if necessary (for us bad storms can be an issue). 

Summer isn't summer without flowers and I'm partial to Impatiens, which do well in the tubs in front of our garage ~~

 
I chose orange Impatiens this year for a change.  Last year we had pink and violet.  Impatiens love morning sun but don't do well is full sun, which makes their color bleach out.  They do need to be watered almost every day in hot weather.  I was told by a follower from the UK that Impatiens don't do well there because they get too much rain. 

I have always been fascinated by Moon Flowers, a night blooming white flower that smells divine!  I tried starting them from seed in past years, but this year I was finally successful after soaking them in water for 48 hours before planting so they would begin to swell.  ~~~

I'm thrilled to finally have some Moon Flowers.  They will start vining soon and they can climb the old headboard leaning against the house.  I became enthralled with Moon Flowers after reading about a woman who lost her husband after many years of marriage.  She found that she couldn't sleep at night without him beside her and she would stay up all night and sit in the dark of the garden.  After a while she decided to plant a night blooming garden and Moon Flowers were her absolute favorites!  It is recommended that they be planted outside a bedroom window to fill your room with their lovely fragrance every night.  I love the miracle of planting seeds and watching them pop through the soil!!

We're also growing a few herbs, mostly Basil (for my special pesto) and Thyme (for luscious baked chicken).  I haven't found any Rosemary yet but we enjoy it also.  Rosemary and Thyme come back almost every year, unless we've had really hard freezes.  Try stripping the little needles off Rosemary stems and use the stronger stems as skewers for chicken breast, pineapple, green pepper and cherry tomato kabobs.  When I do this, I dry the Rosemary needles and use it all winter. 

Whether you plant a 'proper' garden in your yard or prefer the ease of container gardening, I wish you a bountiful harvest this year.  If you choose to set out plants or begin everything from seed, it's all great! 

I wish you all a wonderful Memorial Day weekend ~~  stay safe!