The 6 Vegetables in Our Autumn Garden.

On my 29th birthday, I lounged in the back yard with my feet propped up on a chair and sipped my lemon water. 

And watched.

Watched Stevie work in our garden.

Watched Everett pound some snacks.

Watched my flowers and vegetables and herbs come together in a green-thumbs-up autumnal harmony.

My sister thought this was a very strange way to willingly spend a birthday, but it was actually really very perfect to me.

I'll admit, it was difficult just to sit there, watching him do the work, because I have grown to love the therapeutic activity of gardening. I feel like God speaks so clearly to me while my hands are deep in the soil and I'm planting seeds, watering flowers, and troubleshooting with the dratted caterpillars that try to infest. It all feels like a metaphor for life, and there is something about the quiet of the garden that makes me feel very, very close to my creator.

That being said, I didn't have that same euphoric experience for our fall garden installation this season. Because I am trying to take is extra easy until this baby makes his arrival, I had to let Stevie do everything for our fall garden overhaul. And my friends, it was an overhaul! Since we had been gone for the previous 5 weeks traveling, our garden had become a jungle-y mess of weeds, overgrown zinnias, and sun-scorched herbs. He pulled out every single weed from the root, freshened up the beds with soil and fertilizer, and planted my carefully-chosen fall plants.

Oh, and we decided to go ahead and plant some blueberry bushes, too. And some knockout roses. And move some hostas to a shadier location.

He's my knight in shining armor.

Or my farm boy. Actually yeah, that's more accurate. "Farm boy, fetch me that pitcher?" (what movie?!)

So as I sipped my water (I'm trying to reach a daily quota of 100 oz. and it's hard) and took endless videos of Everett jumping and playing in the yard, Stevie bucketed sweat while he slaved in my beloved patch of Earth. That man is such, such a keeper :)

Even though the installation was a ton of work for him, we decided to go easy on ourselves this year by only planting a few things that would hopefully do well and not require much maintenance (thanks to Pike's Nursery, who answer my endless supply of questions every time I'm in there, they are just the nicest):

Plants:
8 Purple Cabbage
8 Brussels Sprouts
8 Red Lettuce
8 Swiss Chard

Seeds: (because I already had them and it's fun to intersperse veggies for heartier soil)
Carrots
Kale (okay, I planted two types of kale... I had the seeds already and couldn't resist)
Cilantro

We lined the front of the beds with a variety of colorful pansies, which should keep things colorful until the weather truly turns to frost. I've actually never planted pansies before, so I am curious to see if the rumors are true about how weather-resistant they are.

I also couldn't help but plant a few violas and mums in some pots on my porch, along with a transfer of chives from the garden to some pots. They (supposedly) should keep doing their thing for a while longer, and chives are just soooo tasty in mashed potatoes. I wish I could lend all of you my herbs. It's so much fun to garden and cook with your own goods.

Oh, and did you see those pumpkins? I got some dreamy pumpkins for the porch this year.

Thankfully, we got our watering system to work over the summer, so I don't have to hand-water all these plants this fall! I can just sit on my back porch and enjoy the beauty of my fall garden, and friends, even though all this sitting gets a little infuriating (I have so many things I want to do!), it's actually making me realize that I need the rest. Although I wish I could deposit the rest into a sleep bank and make a withdrawal later, when I have a newborn. Wouldn't that be a treat?

There you have it, friends! Our fall garden situation. I absolutely love it and I can already tell that the purple cabbage is going to be gorgeous as it grows. Do you garden? What did you plant for the fall?

Signs of Spring.

I spent two days on my hands and knees back in the fall, digging holes in my front yard and dropping papery bulbs deep in the cool earth. I had no idea what I was doing. I was never taught how to garden. And I thought there was a mistake with these bulbs, because they looked strangely like onions. I didn't know bulbs were supposed to look like onions. Thankfully, they are, and I must have followed the directions somewhat correctly, because over the past week - my flowers have sprung alive! I absolutely love spring, and this year I am especially excited to be celebrating this special awakening of the woods from my own corner of the world. Watching the season resurrect in every plant and tree and yes, even the weeds, that surround my home has been the sweetest experience. This place feels so much like home that its almost strange. Because in reality, I haven't lived here for very long. But I absolutely love and adore my little home with its old cedar frame and weathered wooden fence. I love the odd exterior shade of green and the aged shrubs and the birds that spiral around my yard like the gentlest halo. I love watching my son roll around in the not-yet-lush grass and throw his ball in the yard and yelp with laughter when Stevie tackles him to the ground. I love all these moments, especially their recent increase, along with the rising temperatures and the growing flora and the longer sunshine in the sky. I'm sure everyone feels the exact same way about Spring. But I must say, I'm feeling those feelings. And it's even more fun to watch Everett experience the surprises of Spring. He tried to grab a fistful of my tulips. That was a teaching moment. About how hard mommy worked and how he needs to appreciate the flowers for their tender gracious beauty.

Being barefoot and drinking coffee on my front porch and feeling the balmy breeze and watching these flowers unfold. My son's extra-long hair. My unpolished toenails. His protruding toddler belly. My untanned skin. My husband's type-A plan for the lawn. These are signs of Spring in our little corner of the world. And for me, there is really nothing better than right now.

Planting My First Vegetable Garden.

I have always wanted to grow a salad.

I used to dream of it. I wanted to live on a pasture in an old white farm house and walk outside, past my chickens and horses and pick the vegetables that I grew from seeds in my own little patch of Earth. Of course, in my dream life I also simultaneously lived in New York City and was a famous actress and wore red ball gowns everywhere. It doesn't have to be either/or in the dream world, right?

Well, I've done the New York City thing, and even though fame was never whispered about my stint as an actress, I had the opportunity to give it my best shot. And now, well, it's no white farm house, but it's my house. My green house, actually. And in the back, there are a few rows of above-ground garden beds that are so perfect for vegetables it's not even funny. It's real. My real, rustic, perfect little patch of Earth for my own little produce community.

I spent a lot of time browsing Pinterest for tutorials, talking to friends who are master gardeners and eavesdropping on conversations between the Pike's Nursery employees and customers like myself. I have found myself consumed with questions about which varieties are best for my climate/zone/neighborhood/backyard, where to plant which items, how much to water or how little to fertilize, how to deter deer from my yield, what kind of soil is best, how long until plant maturity, how to prune, etc. The questions go on and on! My Google searches over the past month have become ridiculously suburban. But finally! The planting has begun! And I must say, I'm pretty proud.

Here's what the garden beds looked like before:

I was ready to rip out all those bushes. Clearly, this bed was made for gardening! But it would be a serious investment to replace all of them at once, so Stevie and I decided to focus on the area where catnip was planted and replace that with my first round of Autumn vegetables. In case you're wondering, the catnip is the crazy green wispy plant that looks like a weed. Actually, it was getting choked by a lot of weeds. I believe the previous owners planted the catnip because it's supposed to be a mosquito deterrent? Whatever. It had to go.

I bought so many seeds. Too many, actually, when I realized how much space they would take up. I also bought some plants that had already been growing in their containers. I transplanted them, along with planting some seeds, all which should produce a fall harvest! THIS FALL.

Stevie's a good gardening teacher. He warned me that the most time consuming and laborious part of this endeavor would be pulling up all that catnip and PREPARING THE SOIL. I sort of laughed at him, like, "Yeah, but I'm AMPED. This is going to be so fun!!!"

I mean.

It quickly became time consuming and, yeah, laborious.

Thank goodness my trusty sister came along for the entire planting excursion and kept me laughing. She had me in stitches while we attempted to wheel the tons of muddy soil and weed-eaten catnip up the hill and dump it in the back corner of our property. And she laughed with me when every single neighbor in our hood came by to say hello while we were working in the front yard. There was a solid hour and a half that we just stood in the sun, shielding our faces, making small talk with my new community. What a trooper, my dear sister. That gal is not only a true friend, but a seriously hard worker.

Oh yeah. And we did crap like this.

Early in the day shenanigans.

All in all, it took two days to get the garden planted. Once the catnip was fully removed and the soil was tilled and added and given some magical growing elixir, we got our plant on. We planted cauliflower, carrots, romaine lettuce, galactic lettuce, radishes, strawberries and two types of kale. I am so excited to watch my baby plants grow! I will keep you updated on how things begin to progress. I have no idea what I'm doing, so if you're an idiotic gardener, then we can be friends. If you're a master gardener, wanna come over and tell me what I did wrong?

Have any of you ever planted a garden? What do you wish you had known going into it? Any how-to's or tips that you wouldn't mind sharing with the class?

Have the happiest of weekend to you, friends!