Our family dedicated yesterday to dirt.  We gathered supplies at the store and headed home to begin.  Shayne worked on cleaning out and mulching flower beds while the kids and I got started on our garden.

Getting started:

Containers.  Now, we’re starting with classic pots and planters, but you can use anything, really.  I’ve seen old cowboy boots, reusable shopping bags, potato bags, old wheelbarrows and bathtubs…you get the idea.  I intend to keep an eye out for fun planters later, but for now…the basics.

Potting soil.  I grabbed these bags of organic soil intended for veggies.

I didn’t realize until I’d already begun that they were intended for in-ground use.  Oopsy.  I’m going with it anyway.

Plants and seeds…

Drain holes.  Some pots already have holes, some have perforated areas to be punched out as necessary, and old boots and bags will need holes punched in them.  I used a screwdriver and punched out some holes.

I lined the bottom of the pots with newspaper.  This will keep the soil in and let excess water drain out.

Next up:  time to fill the pots with potting soil.

Then we planted.  Follow the directions on the package.  Most seed packages won’t have directions for container gardening, so be flexible.  I planted extra seeds in each of my containers and then I’ll thin out the plants at they begin to grow.

And here is our container garden in its infancy:

The pots line either side of the walk just outside our back door.  That’s one big plus of container gardening:  easy access!  It’s right outside of our office window so that I can keep a close eye on the plants and it will discourage small animals from invading.

What did we plant, you ask?

Tomatoes (Celebrity and Patio.  Patio tomatoes are cherry-type tomatoes that are supposed to thrive in containers.)

Eggplant (black beauty)

Yellow Squash

Radishes

Jalapenos

Green onions

And….I’m trying herbs for the first time.  They may move into our sunroom.  We’ll see.

Cilantro

Rosemary

Basil

Oregano

We may add more in the coming weeks, but for now I think we’re off to a good start!

Do you garden?  Is it in-ground or container gardening?  Feel free to share success stories!

P.S.– I have a couple of gardening gurus in the family who cannot be stumped!  Hey Aunt Cathy, what have I done wrong so far?

I’m looking sooo forward to my ooey gooey cheesey squash, fried okra, stuffed peppers and fresh, crisp beans. Oh, MAN, am I ready! There is just nothing quite like fresh garden veggies! Let’s just hope I’m able to keep them all alive and producing in this heat!

Oh…quick gnome update. I asked my neighbor if maybe the gnomes would like dinner as a thank you for tilling my garden. He said that they happen to LOVE my buffalo chicken strips, so it looks like I’ll be making lots of those tomorrow night!

On another note, I’m excited another auction that Diane from Pampered Bunz and I are doing this week. It’s a Mickey Mouse outfit this time and I’m going to have a really hard time parting with it! Here’s a little preview of my contribution to the set (Elliott thoroughly enjoyed modeling it for me!)…

Another random thought…my town is having a cajun festival this weekend and I’m kind of excited about that! That in itself is funny, because Shayne and I have really become pretty reclusive lately and the chances of us actually going and facing the crowd are pretty slim. Maybe I’ll just buy a box of Zatarain’s and call it a day.

***Pampered Bunz is now Doodle Bunz!

Our next door neighbors are a very sweet and wonderful couple. They are kind, fascinating, hard working people that I have tons of respect for. It’s a great thing to have good neighbors, you know it? We have lots of them. Mainly retired widows and retired lesbian couples.

But this particular non-lesbian couple have a love for gnomes. They collect them. There are gnomes of all shapes, sizes and expressions both in their home and in their yard. Ceramic ones, plastic ones, you name it. They’re cute little dudes that bring a smile to my face.

But, you see….the neighbors tell us there are other gnomes. Real, live gnomes. And they live in our two back yards. They tell us that they mainly protect us from bad spirits, sometimes they take off with toys and small items….and sometimes they leave surprises and do random kind acts.

This brings us to my garden. I had marked off the perimeter of my garden with the hoe. It isn’t enormous, but when you plan to turn the soil manually, the job can be very overwhelming. One evening, Shayne and I had begun shoveling and turning the soil and finished one small section before it was time to call it a night.

The next day, I went out to water the dirt and soften it up…..and what do I discover?

The area we had worked with the shovel was turned better. Deeper. And a larger area was done.

I convinced myself that I’m just crazy and that we either did more than we thought we did, or that Shayne had come back out and done more while I was busy with the kids.

Neither of these were the case.

Our neighbor saw me out there and said with a wink that he had seen gnomes in our garden and they were acting awfully suspicious! I told him what they had apparently been up to back there and he said that he really suspected that while we weren’t looking, the gnomes would be making another visit to finish off the job.

All the while, there’s a new, shiny tiller sitting about 10 feet behind him.

Hmmm….

I’ll just say….I really like having gnomes! They do good work! Just look…

While I was out taking pics of the gnomes’ handiwork, I thought I’d show you my baby zinnias, too. They are coming up beautifully. Zinnias are tough, tough flowers. They can survive the mean Texas heat and don’t need just a whole lot of water. These will be about 18 inches tall and just full of big gorgeous blooms…

And…my most producing little strawberry plant had a pretty little bloom on it this morning…blinding, really.

I’ve never been much of a green thumb, but I’m really giving it my best shot this time around. Wish me lots of luck, flowers, fruits and veggies!