When we first churned the garden and planted everything this is what it looked like:
With only 2 months time, this is what it now looks like:
Crazy, right? lol
Here are the plants that have taken off in the raised garden.
I have been using the herbs in all of my cooking and totally loved it!
When I prune the herbs I’ve started preserving them for the fall and Houston “winter”.
It’s weird to start thinking about preserving the herbs when it’s only May, but I guess that is the reality of seasons, right?
You may be wondering about the net in the back left corner. Our neighbors warned us about the squirrels stealing fruit from their gardens, so we decided to build something to prevent them from getting our fruit while still allowing us to maintain the garden. Individual cages seemed like too much work to get to each plant. Instead we purchased some netting and poles and built a little house around the tomato plants using a staple gun to attach it to the fence. We also put a door on it so that we could enter (well so I can go inside since the Mr. is too tall) to glean the fruit and maintain the garden. So far,
Hawley-1, squirrels- 0
:-)
Any bets on how long this will last?
Just this week the jalapenos and cherry tomatoes have started coming in.
We are looking forward to some homemade salsa!
Do see that spinach?! This is the Mr.’s favorite plant right now. I think it's really pretty lol
Do see that spinach?! This is the Mr.’s favorite plant right now. I think it's really pretty lol
It’s about ready to be planted next to the lattice.
I can’t wait for a delicious spinach salad!
The birds of paradise (left) have such a striking orange color.
For Easter we went away for the weekend (see here), but before we left we had several strawberries that were almost red. But when we got back they were all gone :-( Since we still have yet to sample our strawberries we’re really hoping this next batch of blooms produces fruit (top right). I love using fresh parsley (bottom right) in my cooking these days!
The birds of paradise (left) have such a striking orange color.For Easter we went away for the weekend (see here), but before we left we had several strawberries that were almost red. But when we got back they were all gone :-( Since we still have yet to sample our strawberries we’re really hoping this next batch of blooms produces fruit (top right). I love using fresh parsley (bottom right) in my cooking these days!
The apples (left) have gotten so large the that tree is starting to bend over, especially with all of the rain lately in Houston. We’ve put up some cages for the branches to lean on. The oranges (top right) and lemons (bottom right) are coming in, but very few have ripened yet. I mentioned on Wednesday though how excited I am to start cooking with the lemons :-)
To be honest, I really didn’t think the black berries, blue berries, or grapes would work. I have been pleasantly surprised. They’re growing, and now I’m wondering how they will taste when they ripen.
And of course, here are my gardening buddies,
To be honest, I really didn’t think the black berries, blue berries, or grapes would work. I have been pleasantly surprised. They’re growing, and now I’m wondering how they will taste when they ripen.
And of course, here are my gardening buddies,
both big and small :-)
