2013: The Garden's Lucky Number

Since I have a yard of my very own this year, I was super excited to start a real garden, and I've been surprisingly successful! Of course, that may be due to the sun as well.

I followed the instructions in this book to create 3 garden boxes, which the author swore was more than enough for two people. And boy was he right!

The three overflowing boxes.

I actually had to tear the spinach out of this box, because it started going to seed. But there's still lots of swiss chard, peas and carrots.

A closeup. This box had peas, artichokes, swiss chard, carrots and spinach.

I've always wanted to give artichokes a try, so I bought a couple plants. One was kind of a dud (must have been the plant), but the other has two buds! I can't wait until they're big enough to eat!

Baby artichoke! I'm going to eat you!

I made the mistake of complaining out loud that I'd never been successful with zucchini. "They're supposed to be easy to grow" I whined. "Why haven't I ever gotten any?" Apparently now I'm making up for the previous years. This is just the first batch, and I let almost all of them get too big.

For size, check out the bottle opener on the end.

For color, and to attract beneficial insects, I planted some nasturtiums and marigolds. They really make the boxes look pretty. And I found a ladybug on one of my brussels sprouts, so they must be working!

Nasturtiums and marigolds.

I can't take credit for these, since they were left by the previous owners. But we have a large raspberry patch that's going great guns, in spite of my neglect. This is what I collected tonight. I am excited to have fresh berries on my cereal tomorrow!

The first collection of the raspberries!

I know part of my success this year is due to the wonderfully sunny summer we've been having. But after several years of lackluster gardens, I'm happy to finally have something to show for my hard work. Now to just eat it all!