Month: August 2015

I love watching the different plants springing into life. Back in May, I was late getting my garden going and I remember looking at the bare earth and wondering how long it would take to start growing and filling in.

The extremely dry and hot summer that we’ve had has certainly been good for the garden, but it definitely requires hand watering, which can be tedious and definitely takes time. Most days, I’m quite happy to go out and water, but some days I’m just too tired…..but its still necessary.

I keep trying to find fun and interesting ways to utilize the limited space that I’ve got. Last year, I had planters up on top of the white privacy fence, but I found that it was difficult to water them….so i didn’t bother putting anything up there this year. This is the second year that I’ve grown cucumbers from the stairs and through the railing…..You can see that there is a bucket of herbs on the bottom step heading up my deck.

There is a mix of parsley, sage, garlic chives and rosemary. I have a few smaller containers of mixed herbs throughout my garden. I like the way they look and that I can grab a handful of herbs, to use, from one place. Then I have a bucket of cucumbers every other step up to the deck.

The cucumbers grow out and through the railing making it easy to harvest, and the row of green looks really pretty too.

Instead of growing a basket of flowers, I planted cherry tomatoes in a hanging basket and hung that from the hook on my deck. I like that I can just go out and pop a few delicious warm red cherry tomatoes in my mouth……..so yummy!

This year, Jon built a makeshift ledge that fits securely around my deck and I’ve been able to free up some space on the deck. I grew 3 varieties of red lettuce in a small rectangular planter and it’s so convenient to have it ready and mostly clean when I want to make a salad. I think it looks really pretty too.

I’ve tried to stagger the growing cycles in my garden so that I have a continuous stream of different veggies. Having the ledge on the deck also makes it easy to plant new plants and to be able to keep an eye on them. I find that it’s easy to see when the baby plants need water. It’s easier to see when they are looking a little wilted and even easier to just bring a glass of water out to dump on them. Here is some more salad greens that are about 2 weeks old. They will be start to fill out and be ready to eat within the next 2 weeks. YUM!

I think that anyone could grow some herbs and a container or two of salad greens, just about anywhere……its not difficult and the taste is amazing! There is something so fun about planting, watering and harvesting. Just because you don’t have the traditional garden space…if you are interested in growing veggies and fruits, find creative ways to grow around your place. Whether it’s on a deck, or at a front door, or in hanging baskets……there are so many creative spaces that can be filled with fresh produce.

Do you have an unconventional garden space? I’d love to hear about it and see pics.