sometimes you have to look closely

My family, and our 'peeps' in the know, always enter our home by walking up on the back deck and sliding open the back door.  We do this mainly because of the set-back and detached garage.  It just makes sense to hop out of the car and take the path of least resistance ....... especially when weighted down with groceries and screaming smiling kids.   

As you step up on the deck, you can catch a glance of the backyard and one of the vegetable gardens.  Usually I enjoy the view and take an extra moment to scan the progress of the plants and make mental note of any hearty weed patches to attack at a later time.  Lately, however, I have found myself dropping my chin to my chest while making a bee-line for the door.  The above average rain totals coupled with abundant storm activity have left my yard and garden patches a swampy mess.  Nothing I, or anyone else, would want to stop and admire.

When I woke up this morning, squinting at the rays of sunlight bursting through the window, I decided I would grab my camera and head out to the gardens and purposely look for the pretty ......... sometimes you have to look closely.

The colors and textures never cease to amaze me. 

We have never planted corn, so I was quite surprised to see a root system (brace roots - I Googled it) above ground.  So interesting!

 

The wind blows ever so gently and the anthers (Google again)
shimmy and shake.

Roma tomatoes this year ...... hoping to make some salsa!

 

These cherry tomatoes will barely ripen before the nimble fingers of my children will pluck them from the vine and pop them into their mouth

 

Look!  It's a teeny tiny pepper!

A cucumber blossom ...... the ONLY pretty part of the plant (I really dislike the fuzzy, prickly stems)

 

This delicate white blossom will make way for a lovely long green bean. 

 

Another cherry tomato plant, but this one is in a container on the back deck.  I think this photo is funny because you don't expect to see a minivan as the backdrop.

Today I looked at my gardens, closely, and started to smile about it again.

giddy for my garden

First of all, let me just state for the record I feel shame about not knowing more about gardening and growing food. I live in the Midwest and have all my life. Fertile soil, plenty of rain and good growing temperatures are abundant. I realize huge portions of the population live in suburban areas and are limited in space and resources. As a family living in Iowa with a nice sized yard, there is no reason we shouldn't take advantage of what we have and grow more than a pretty green lawn. Yes it takes some work, but the rewards exceed the perspiration and sore muscles.

Oh, and the excitement when you peek into the garden and see something that you could run over to the store and purchase? Well, it's fabulousity at it's finest.

Hey! Look at me! I'm a Cherry Tomato! And I brought along a few friends!


I so didn't know cucumber plants produce a yellow flower. I also thought one plant would produce one cucumber. See?! I'm Clueless.


And guess what THIS is? (other than a bad blurry photo where my macro didn't want to work) ........... it is the beginning of a kohlrabi!

To all those who are unable to grow a garden, I am sorry. You are welcome to come and pick weeds whenever you feel like it.

first harvest

Last night I was craving a salad for dinner, so I walked out my back door and picked some lettuce and a few radishes. Not quite enough for a hearty salad, but "hey, look! These vegetables grew in my back yard!" I have been waiting to say that phrase for years and am so glad things are turning out. I added store bought romaine, green bell peppers, broccoli slaw, green onions, cucumbers and some baby carrots. I also cut up the remains of the grilled chicken from Sunday's BBQ and topped off the meal by making some garlic flat bread. Nutritious, light and very satisfying.

Handy-dandy Tip: I use my Pampered Chef chopper quite often. One of the last shows I went to someone mentioned you can use the chopper to chop up ice and it will clean and sharpen the blades all in one fell swoop.
I realize a photo is a little over the top, but hey .... the camera was there and I was feeling a little trigger happy.

Today was a success at the pool. I checked the weather channel before slopping on the sunscreen so we wouldn't have a repeat of yesterday afternoon. Oh, I didn't mention that? Yeah, I had gotten the kids + 1 friend all changed into bathing suits and sprayed down with sunscreen. We went out to the garage, loaded up on the bikes and took off for the pool. All of the sudden I notice a strange cool breeze coming from the north. Huh, 106 degrees (w/ heat index) and a cool breeze? Something didn't add up. But when I looked up and saw the dark clouds with pricks of lightening running through them I knew for certain I had screwed up. Ellie's eyes were as round as saucers and I could see she was ready to cry ...... major fear of thunderstorms. We made a quick u-turn and headed back for home. Not 5 minutes later a big 'ole storm blew through bringing over 2.5 inches of rain and heavy winds. I learned my lesson and checked the forecast before heading out today. It's only week 4 of summer vacation, folks. I still have LOADS of time to make some more mistakes.

go garden grow

We have been planning a garden for over 3 years. This spring we finally took the plunge with the shovel and broke ground. Who knows what will actually produce, but at least we started it and will know more by next year. If you cannot see the writing on the photo, here is a list of what we planted:

• Red and pear yellow cherry tomatoes
• Beefsteak tomatoes
• Radishes
• Lettuce
• Cucumbers
• Pole Beans
• Kohlrabi
• Yellow and green bell peppers

We used plants for the tomatoes and the peppers, then seeds for the rest. We planted EVERYTHING on May 10th, but I have no idea when to harvest what. I just know we will be so happy to place something on our table that we grew right outside the back door.