Summer Garden Tour 2017

OK, you guys.  Today's post is a little different, yes.  I wanted to change things up a little bit around here, because I feel like I do a lot of posts that are almost a little redundant to some point, so I thought about what I want to do a blog post about, and one of the first things that came to mind was...my garden.  So if  you didn't know, I love gardening.  It's always been a hobby of mine, and growing up I always got a little piece to garden, so that makes it even more special to me.  This year, well...yeah.  Let's just see what happened this year =) 

Now actually, this year, I didn't 'technically' have an 'actual' garden.  Almost every other year I have, but this year we just never got to tilling the ground and all of that (who knows, maybe we'll surprise ourselves and have a fall garden? xD we'll probably do that), but what we focused on a lot more this year were flowers and so, because fruits/veggies > flowers, I actually did grow some fruits and veggies in the flowerbeds.  DESPERATE TIMES CALL FOR DESPERATE MEASURES.  *ahem*

So basically in this post I'm just going to be going through what all I'm doing and did this year plant-wise, so even if you're not into plants and stuff, yo, food comes from plants, so.  Yeah. :P

 /1 PEPPERS

SO, I don't really have a lot to say about peppers.  They're good.  Awesome in stir-fry.  These found their home in one of our flowerbeds *facepalm*, but hey, what can you do.  

Fun fact: They're also green.

 /2 LETTUCE
  I. love. lettuce.  It's one of my favorite things to grow, just because it's really good in salad and easy to eat.  IT'S SO GOOD Y'ALL. 

 /3 HERBS
 I've never really been huge into herbs.  I guess they're easier to grow and keep...like, in your kitchen, if you wanted to, but I don't really mess with them a whole lot.  The only two kinds I had this year were mint (it's a classic YESS) and basil.  Not even going to lie, I haven't used the basil at all and I have some idea for the mint, but haven't done anything yet.  I toLD YOU I DON't DO HERbS.

We have had so many butterflies and bees around our place lately it's kind of awesome.  I guess they're attracted to all the flowers? Eh, idk BUT IT MAKES THIS PHOTOGRAPHER HAPPY.

 /4 CUCUMBER 
TIME TO INTRODUCE MY CUCUMBERS.  Fun fact: I was not expecting any cucumbers to actually grow this year.  I had bought a seed packet and planted them in seed flats in the spring, but once they'd sprouted & I set them outside, the wind knocked them all over and they all died.  I thought.  BUT ONE lived to tell the tale and sprung up from the flowerbed, to my surprise.  (And like, at first we had no idea what it was until a cucumber actually grew on it lol WE'RE SUCH GOOD GARDENERS.  WITH SUCH GREEN THUMBS.) 

/5 PUMPKIN
So this one also has a crazy story.  Last fall around Thanksgiving, I went to the store, saw a cute pumpkin they were selling outside, and bought it.  I used it for decoration for the season, but then afterwards, I had no idea how to dispose of it or throw it away.  Like, it was still alive? So I didn't want to put it in the trash.  Therefore, I set it on the edge of the porch.  And forgot about it.  Completely.   (I think sometime from the span of last winter to early this spring I'd noticed that since it had been exposed to the natural elements it had rotted and become disgusting, so I DEFINITELY had no idea how to get rid of it then.)  BUT THEN, it was gone.  WhAT. 

AND THEN...the magic.  This thing started growing in our flowerbed.  (This thing...wowow #progardeningtermsamiright) WE DIDN'T KNOW WHAT IT WAS.  (again) Was it a zucchini? Was it a cucumber? WHO KNEW.  WELL, my mom figured that it was that old pumpkin, and she was right.  

GUYS.  THAT THING WENT INTO THE GROUND AND GREW AGAIN.  And the best part is this year I have more pumpkins to decorate with, like #winwin right????

  /6 TOMATOES
Probably one of my favorite things to grow other than lettuce.  I've always grown tomatoes when I've had my own garden as far back as I can remember, and while I can't say they've always turned out the greatest, I think they're probably one of my favorites to grow.  My only issue this year was that we had so many thunderstorms and strong winds that knocked them all over at their roots.  UGH.

  /7 PEACHES
OKAY so i'm not growing this in my garden, but I discovered that our new place actually has fruit trees.  AND A PEACH TREE.  Wut.  Like, the day I found that my day was made.  PEACHES ROCK.  I'm serious.  They're amazing.

+++

SO YEP.   There you go, guys.  A very different post than usual, but I wanted to shake things up a little bit around here.  AND I really wanted to do this, because gardening, it's just one of my many passions, y'know? *ahem* SO WHAT ABOUT YOU? Green thumb or not? I think gardening is almost therapeutic in a sense.  It's so calming to see your plants grow from seeds into actual fruit-bearing plants.  But I will admit, I still have yet to successfully grow an indoor house plant.  AKDFJFUHS. HARD. 

 Do you have a garden? What's your favorite plant? (also fruit/vegetables > flowers, just saying) Let's talk!! 

-autumn