As referenced in my last post, fresh and local is readily available these days at farmers markets, but what about in your own back yard or rooftop or patio?
Gardens can be anywhere you can put a planter, and they don’t have to be major projects that require lots of digging, planting and maintenance.
If herbs are your fancy, they are easily grown in pots
which can work beautifully into a patio setting. Not only do they add color and texture but herbs are the absolute easiest to grow with no more than a little TLC.
My daughters came up with very clever ways to garden. One used wine crates to create multiple growing spaces for herbs, lettuces and tomatoes. Since they are wood, it is a good idea to have drainage holes in the bottom of the crates and to line them with plastic to keep them from rotting.
This daughter chose watering troughs from a farm store for her garden, and they have worked great. These are totally filled with dirt which makes them a little heavy should they need to be moved. An alternative would be to fill them about 2/3 full with styrofoam packing material which would lighten them considerably and still leave plenty of room for dirt.
Where there is yard space, a raised garden is perfect. It is simple and inexpensive as it only requires a wood or, as in this photo, stone frame and enough dirt to fill it. I have found this to be a very successful way to expand my vegetable selection, and a 4×8 dimension makes it very easy to work.
This has to be my favorite garden in that it is as visually appealing as it is practical. Finding the old tubs is a bit of a challenge, but you could just as easily use galvanized ones.
With all the interest in gardening, there is no shortage of books on the subject. These three, for example, are loaded with helpful hints.
What I love about having my own little garden, be it in pots or in a raised bed, is the satisfaction that comes with knowing I did it. I check on my growing things every day, and I am so pleased when I can harvest that first basil stem, tomato, lettuce or radish. If you haven’t tried growing some of your own fresh and local, get started…..NOW!
If you have gardening tips or stories, I’m betting the rest of us would love to hear.
i so appreciate your visit and the comments you leave behind
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Lulu, this is great! We have such a short growing season in Colorado, compared to Kansas. I have one above-ground garden, and the process of digging in the dirt, planning and planting and tending, revives me as much as the few meals of vegetables we harvest. In Kansas, my mother grew all kinds of vegetables as well as gooseberries and apricot trees, and for a number of years she had long arbor lines of grapes on the opposite side of the big back yard from the corn.
We always had more than enough to share, and I loved going along, carrying boxes full of fresh foods to people who needed them. Mom would call ahead: “We have so many cucumbers and tomatoes, could you use some?” and when we drove up they had glasses of iced water or tea waiting to serve. We’d sit on their porches and visit and have the best time.
Gardens are an important part of civilization as well as survival.
I wish my little garden yielded enough for me to share, but I’m lucky to get bits of everything but lettuce. I love the effort though.
I’ve started my seeds and am looking forward to when my tomato plants can make the trip up to our Maine garden. 🙂
You are the queen of tomatoes!
Let’s hope the Maine garden will be kind to me this year.
Thanks for sharing all the tips and inspirational photos Linda! We are going to plant a raised bed in our back yard and I can’t wait. We are total amateurs but it should be fun! I am going to check out those books you recommended,
Jenna
You’ll have fun with it, Jenna, as you find out what works and what doesn’t. I’ve found that most things take a lot more sun than I have.
have garden boxes and we love them. we haven’t tried whisky barrels but I think it would be fun. Thank you for sharing at the hop, your participation makes the hop extra special. Big Hugs P.S. the new giveaway will be posted tomorrow!
You are so good about stopping by and leaving a comment. I enjoy being a part of your world, too.
Great ideas for gardens. Love the idea of using the wine crates. Very clever of your daughter.
Our growing season is so short here. The deer seem to devour everything so it gets disheartening, and expensive. I am surrounded by farms, so in July when some crops start to come in, I go there. That;s not to say I don’t grow herbs, and of course some tomatoes etc. But I have to sit with a shotgun to protect them from the deer! I am sure you have them in Maine too.
The deer aren’t a problem since we are on the water and they stay closer to the woods. What I need is more morning sun.
I would love to do something like this, but our HOA (a.k.a. Suburban Gestapo!) would be on us like white on rice!!! They are SO strict around here!!! I mean…REALLY strict! They actually come right up onto your deck or your patio or your porch…they don’t care! Even if we want to plant something as innocent as a hosta, we have to have approval from the board! ALL perennials MUST be approved. Wild, isn’t it? Thought we were living in America. I must have taken a wrong turn! 🙂
I’d like to think you are kidding, not even a pot of basil on your porch? That’s nuts.
Hi Lulu, I love all these ideas, but my favorite, since I have a small year, is the ladder effect with the pots of herbs. Thanks for sharing all these practical ideas.
Now that we live in a pent house condo, hubby has herbs on pots and they grow so nice at arm’s reach and, to the cooking pot!! I love your garden pots and pretty flowers, you must enjoy your green thumb very much, my friend. Thank you for sweet visit. Yes, the soup is native for Holy week, as it means the crop of the earth, so it’s made out of fresh grains of all types you can think of and you also garnish it with the things I have in my post. There’s also a cod fish stew type of thing, which you also garnish the soup with. Believe me, it’s really wonderful. I never had it in the US, as in those days, mother never made it, so I’ve learned to cook and eat after my Mil died, who is the one that would invite us for it and for the Holy week holiday tradionaly every year. The chumal is another delicacy, as it’s made of corn and steamed in it’s own leaf. The soup, I understand came from Spain, but the chumal, very much like the Mexican tamal, it’s from native people. Tank you for asking, you are great! Big hugs,
FABBY
Thanks, Fabby, for sharing about the food you prepared. I love knowing the story.
LOVE the old stairs repurposed as a vertical garden – pinning!!
thx for visiting me too!
Have a great weekend xox
An easy place to display pots for sure.
Lots of great ideas! I love the watering troughs!
Yep, me too. I’m going to put a trough in my yard not just because it’s practical but because I’m crazy about the look.
You have some great container gardening ideas here, Lulu. I like mixing herbs with flowers…very pretty!
XO,
Jane
Thanks, Jane. Isn’t it amazing how creative we can be with our gardens?
I really like the wine crates used for herbs — how fun and decorative. We have a large yard so everything goes in the ground. This fall we plan on building raised gardens and making the space a bit more gardener and plant friendly, as well as more visually beautiful.
Kenley
You wouldn’t believe how much attention the wine crate garden has gotten! The raised gardens work great, especially in our Texas soil. The hard part is keeping things growing during the summer.
Indeed! When we build the raised gardens, I think we’re going to put in shade sails to help with the extreme sun of the summer!
We have a large garden and have been enjoying leeks, German lettuce and beets all winter. We just ate the last of the tomatoes and the new crop is in. This year our asparagus is producing bunches and each morning I have an asparagus omelette made with my own chicken eggs. I grew up on a ranch and when I was young the garden was 5 acres of crop…….perhaps why I do not much care for potatoes today!! Thanks for sharing all the garden ideas. I love the one with the stone borders and the one with the old cast iron kettles.
How lucky you are to have a large garden. I have to keep what I plant pretty simple as I don’t have a large enough spot where there is enough sun. I’ve tried asparagus with no luck which is a real disappointment.
All great ideas! I am a pretty serious gardener, and your tips are wonderful! Happy Thursday from the enchanted oven.
xo,
Lisa
I’m glad you found something useful here. Thanks for stopping by.
Great ideas, a variety of possibilities! Charming. SO nice to have fresh herbs, eh? Visiting from Fav Things- have a good weekend
Fresh herbs are a must and I always have them growing in my pots.
those are all very good ideas. I love planting, and making use of things that normally aren’t being used.
Thanks. Glad you enjoyed taking a look. There seems to be no end to the way you can grow things.
I have a container garden and very exicited to see some baby sprouts come up this week. Yay.
Seeing those first little sprouts pop through the dirt is a big yahoo moment for me, too.
I also luv the “tub” garden 🙂 I’m visiting via Thursday Favorite Things and your newest Follower 🙂
~ Jill
http://www.frugalplus.com/
Thanks Jill, for stopping by.
Just plant tomatoes far , far away or not at all as they are a magnet for insects that can destroy the entire garden effort.
I wonder if that’s a function of area. In Maine, I don’t seem to have an insect problem but in Houston it’s different.