The Garden

Two kinds on basil on the deck garden


Lavender, yellow and orange bell pepper plants (to be transplanted to garden) and thyme - the thyme smells oh so yummy and is a great seasoning on meat of all kinds.


Citronella plant that wards off the mosqitos (as in citronella candles, those come from plant essence!) It smells so good when you take your hand and kinda "ruffle" the leaves. MMMM, lemony.




My two big squash plants and little strawberry plant (next to the lattice) that has yielded two itty bitty berries.

Squash flower and a little baby squash (lower left). Squash flowers are edible. But I'm not going to try them. :)

Slug and aphid damage on the snap peas.

One lone snap pea left - there's still hope!!

Mint on the deck garden - very good for iced tea and mojitos!



Bell pepper plant with some wind and slug damage

One (that's right just one) big huge yellow cherry tomato plant

One small roma red tomato (it started from seed - the yellow tomatoes are from plant, from Wally World)

Another bell pepper plant, with a little slug and wind damage

The onion patch - rain is not helping, they like it drier.


Greek Oregano - very good in spaghetti sauces and pizzas!

The sad sack of snap peas

The even sadder little carrots that survived the torrential down pours (they like it dry too!)

Beautiful big green bean plants

A green bean flower



So, each year I embark on a green thumb quest. First year it turned out pretty good, yielding lots of tomatoes, squash, basil, mint and even a few carrots. Year #2 didn't turn out so well, because I became pregnant and once in to the second trimester, any type of physical exertion, left me very winded. The garden ended up overgrown with cantalope and mint, and some varmint named Charlie, apparently likes to play with cantalope. I did get a few squash and tomatoes.

This year we have had lots of rain, as I have mentioned before, so my plants have been attacked by killer slugs. Who knew slugs could be so destructive? Not me. So last night, I worked it over, laying down a layer of peat moss to give it a boost, weeding, and sprinkling salt around the beams to kill the slugs. Then today it rained...Sigh. I did learn a new trick, thanks to Joey Green's Gardening Magic (courtesy of Gracie Fabulous). Use Bounce Fabric Softener sheets on your person while gardening and it repels mosquitoes. Granted, I looked ridiculous with fabric sheets hanging off my tank top and out of my pants, but I only have one bite today! And I smelt so fresh and so clean clean. For some reason, the slugs and the aphids really only attacked the snap peas, as of right now. I guess maybe because they were the first plants to be planted in the garden. They grow good in cool weather, so I planted them in March. I may try them again in the fall.

I won't get a whole lot of produce out of it, but it's a fun hobby. I do plan on making some baby food out of the green beans and squash that I get out of it. And carrots too, depending on how many and the quality it yields. I will do a winter garden starting in the fall with more carrots (they like cold weather too), cabbage, lettuce and other leafy greens that are winter hardy. We'll see how well they hold up to an Arkansas winter. Might do ok if we don't get any ice and if I can find some straw to insulate the ground.