Neglect Not Thy Garden

I just realized I haven't posted since September.  I suppose I've been a little busy with teaching this school year, serving on a new committee, and deciding to go back to grad school to work on another degree.  It's all worth it, but whew, it's been a busy year.  While this little blog space of mine may have been neglected, my garden was not.  It is beautiful if I do say so myself.  Here are some pictures of my beautiful blooms from the past couple of weeks:

I really wanted to try growing some vegetables this year.  My wonderful hubby built me a patio box for easy access and maintenance.  I planted yellow squash, cucumber, okra, purple bell pepper, green bell pepper, and jalapeno pepper.  I also planted some herbs on one end:  basil, oregano, parsley, and rosemary.  Finally, I added some pink & purple wave petunias, marigolds, moss rose, and a couple of accents plants to give some color.  I love blended gardening! :)  So far the veggie box is a success.  We have picked squash, purple bell pepper, and jalapeno peppers.  The tomatoes are planted in the shrubbery bed beside the patio. I LOVE fried green tomatoes. We have small green ones now, but my daddy always said you can't pick a green one until you get the first ripe one.

Check out the progress:

April 20, 2013

May 10, 2013

May 16, 2013

May 25, 2013

May 30, 2013

Forgot to mention the blueberries are also ready for pickin'!  They are ripening each day and the tree is loaded with more to ripen.  Ready for those cobblers, smoothies, muffins, and freezer bags!

My Mother's Garden

My mother has always had a garden.  Always.   Some summers it would be so hot and parched that my mom would nearly run the well dry to give water to the thirsty flowers and vegetables.  The garden has moved around from place to place over the years, although my mom and dad still live in the same house on the same land.  At one point, the flower garden consisted only of a rail-road tie bordered bed in the front yard, and a few shrubs and flowers around the front porch of the house.  Then another bed was added in the front yard to include purple-wave petunias, yellow trailing lantana, and a sitting bench.  There is the bed that grows so lush over the septic tank now with wildflowers, but I still remember the bachelor buttons that grew in there for years.  The shasta daisies grew along the side of the shed that faced my dad's vegetable garden with rows of squash, peppers, tomatoes, peas, and beans.  The picket fence in front of the veggie garden was graced with hot summer lillies transplanted from my grandmother's house.  All of this was beautiful enough itself.  Then came the cabin.  The cabin is a project that my mom and dad built in a clearing in the woods behind the house.  It will eventually be a guest-suite of some sort, but for now it is a hangout, a place for seasonal storage, and continues to be a growing project.  Anyway, the addition of the cabin in the woods was the start of something much larger than all the flowerbeds that had come before. After the cabin was constructed, flowers were planted around the area to add life and color.  Outdoor chairs, benches, and swings were collected to give seating to the new gathering place.  Then came the potting shed, the greenhouse, and more flowers.  Surrounded by so many beautiful living things, I decided that I needed to start capturing the beauty in each bloom, bulb, and insect that landed for a brief second to pollinate. God's nature really is amazing. With my Kodak point-and-shoot camera and my naked eye, I sat in the garden and waited.  With each photo, I began collecting memories of my mother's garden for myself.  My mother's loving garden was my inspiration and so began my search for my own garden and dreams...

Glimpses of my mother's garden in Monticello, GA

 This blog is where I will document memories of my mother's garden, the creation of mine, and the adventures along the way.  I will also share with you my ideas, inspirations, and garden creations.  Thanks for joining me!