Garden!

I have started my garden and it is four times bigger than last year. Don't get excited.. last year was my first year with vegetables, so my garden was the size of a rectangular laundry basket.  My daughter's bf asked my why did I bother? But I said I wanted to fail small at first... :D  
This year it's about 4'x4' in the north east corner of my back yard.  It gets the best sun there and good water from the drain pipe.

That's just about the size I can manage while still working and keeping up with the front and back gardens. They are mostly decorative, with the exception of my mint and strawberry plants. The strawberry plants are transplanted from my front lawn where I spotted the tiny yellow centred blossoms with white petals and couldn't believe it! They seem to love my back garden and I get enough strawberries for my cereal for a good part of the summer.  The strawberries share the back north section with a Spirea, some hostas, daffodils, an iris or two, and many lilies of the valley.


The garden sections in the North west and North east are surrounded by white hooped fencing to keep a certain digger dog out.  I just have to say Get out of my garden! and his tail tucks in.  


I have planted the Squash, Zucchini, Green Beans and eeensy weeensy tomato sprouts [God love 'em, they're trying hard!]. It immediately started  to gently rain, then it rained some more, then it rained some more!  Whew! I keep looking out at my little tomato plants, willing them to put down roots and struggle on.  I still have to transplant the lettuce, collards and beets, and I'm waiting for a response from my onions.  *sad face* I may have to buy new onion seeds if I don't see some green soon.


I bought 50 Gladioli bulbs for ten bucks, and have now planted them behind my various hostas plants. While I was planting them in the NW garden, I found my little cement turtle buried in the dirt! Hubs asked how it got buried and I pointed at our fur-baby.  I also bought a yellow mini rose plant for $1.97 and split it into two plants [it had 4 stalks] and planted it on either side of the front piece in my front garden.  It kind of frames the whole thing.  I have two from last year that have come back this year, so not bad for six dollars worth of plants.  Very good value for money!  We've made a big error in planting the front garden however.  Against the house is a hedge of yellow-green leaves. In the center of the hedge is a sort of hole, out of which spring my tiger lilies.  The left is a patch of green and white striped African grass, then some heathery looking purple stuff, a geranium, my daffies, chicken and hens plant, some little rose bushes and some big green clumps that I have no idea of the flower they produce.   But it seems to be a lot of yellow and green, so it's hard to pick out the flowers.  I never remember to replant everything though.


Funny to remember that for years I thought I had a 'black thumb'.  Now I have roses and vegetables!