Wild Garden Update



I was walking through the backyard a week or so ago and noticed onions growing from last years salsa garden. I planted them from seed almost a year ago, and they didn't do well... they were weak and the tops eventually fell off and I forgot about them. To see them growing stronger and healthier than they did last summer is so strange! This gardening stuff never stops surprising me...

I learned a lot from last years garden and from the community gardening class we took this winter, and now when I go on walks with Dozer, or drives around the neighborhood, I can't stop looking at the plants and trees that people have chosen to grow in their yards. Some yards stand out among the normal yards looking balanced and lovely, with a flow to all the trees, bushes, and flowers. Yards like that take a lot of time and work, and I hope someday to accomplish that look. There are so many possibilities and personalities a yard can have, too much variety can mess up the composition.

You can have a yard with pinks and purples and whites... or yellows, reds, and oranges. Or a yard with no flowers at all... just plants with different textures and heights. For me it's hard to say no to any kind of flower, but to have a good looking yard you can't just plant everything you run across. Even though I love hollyhocks, they simply would look out of place with what I have going on. It's a fun puzzle to put together, especially because I want to win "yard of the year" from the city. And if I got the award while I was still in my thirties, well that would be a rad accomplishment.

My mom thinks I inherited my grandma's green thumb, which she is convinced skips every other generation. I sure hope so... I want to be that elderly lady kneeling in front of her house on her foam pad, weeding, while wearing a giant straw hat one day...

The book Animal, Vegetable, Miracle by Barbara Kingsolver inspired this wild garden I have growing right now. I planted these cool weather plants under the scrub oak in the backyard, and I'm thrilled that they started growing.

kale:

bibb lettuce:

turnips:

and I got 4 kinds of tomato plants growing in the bathroom, according to the farmer's almanac I can plant these outside on May 12th, along with all the annuals I want to buy:

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