Gardening: A glimpse ahead

     Gardening has been a love of mine for a long time. Not that I've ever actually made or had a proper garden. My mother worked ceaselessly on her gardens while I was growing up. She had many hardworking and practical vegetable and fruit plants. And purely for the enjoyment and feasting of the senses, flowers scattered here and there. Fragrant roses and irises to meet us as we walked to the front door and a lilac bush outside a window, so the wind would carry it's scent to our indoor lives. I've spent many hours in her gardens, and although they haven't been extensive or professionally planned, they were thoroughly enjoyed by me and my whole family.

     I haven't lived with my parents for a good four years now, but every time I visit mom's garden in late spring or full summer it brings me back to my childhood and I realize how much I truly love being surrounded by nature. It's like being within the very fabric of what makes up life itself. Together Naaman and I want to dedicate the little plot of land under our back window solely for vegetables. It's tiny! But we're only starting out so maybe it's okay to have only a little bit of land to mess with. But my all time dream is to have a flourishing flower garden. Have you heard of Floret Flower Farm in Washington? It has become my obsession. It's a highly productive family flower farm on just 2 tiny acres! It's way bigger than our small neighborhood backyard, but still it gives me hope that I can do something with my garden. The pictures on Floret Farm's site are too die for! There is so much beauty in their flowers.

     I want to walk into my yard and feel surrounded with explosions of purples, whites, pale and vibrant greens, and the soft straw yellows of ornamental grasses. I want a small flower oasis to break up the boring beat of suburbia. So I've been planning our yard. We also want, or probably need, some tall trees or bushes to block out the neighbors. From the upstairs window we can see into six other yards! Privacy was not a priority when this neighborhood was planned out. Blocking out some of this view will be a relief to eyes that are desperate for some beauty. This is an interesting and hopefully a productive journey that we are embarking on. We've already started a compost pile to feed the fruit and vegetable plants and I'm assuming for the flowers too? I am definitely not claiming to be a genius about gardening, but maybe, just maybe, my mom's green thumb has rubbed off on me somehow.

Vegetables Planned: cucumbers, tomatoes, potatoes, radishes, lettuce, carrots, onions, garlic, broccoli, spinach, kale, sweetpea(flower bonus!), beans and watermelon. A potted herb garden too!

Fruits Planned: Strawberries, blueberries, and apples.

Flowers Planned: purple salvia, lavender, artemisia, alliums, lamb's ear, lilac, larkspur, blue cornflower, sweet peas, nigella, bells of ireland, green mist, sublime(white), hydrangeas, poppies, and ravenna grass and others.

     I may have over planned the flowers, but a girl who can, will dream. If you're curious as to what these flowers look like you can check them out on my Garden Planning Pinterest board. I will post updates of how we are doing, and how our garden is evolving. From seed to harvest it'll be an adventure.