Let me make one thing clear: Plants come to my house to die. They seriously walk through the door and start making their suicide plans.
But I want it different. As many of my readers know, my pup’s name was Flower and she was diagnosed with terminal cancer this year. My mom has since decided that this year is going to be the “Year of the Flower,” meaning our family is going to cultivate and flourish as many flowers as possible in our gardens in honor of my baby.
I also read these stories and see videos about people with an “urban homestead,” and I want so badly to be a part of that movement. Does that mean I actually water things enough or spend time in my yard enough? Well, no. I’ll admit I don’t hang out in my yard enough to expect big results. But I want to. I want to want to.
I also was originally planning on having bees this year. This is a huge reason to have beautiful flowers and wonderful veggies anyway, but I was also thinking to offer as much food for my new “pets” as possible. Hopefully next year.
So I’ve decided the best way to commit to being a better plant mama–and hopefully to reap the benefits of that–is to tell all of you about my experiences and plans for my garden so that I have as many people as possible keeping tabs on me and keeping me accountable… Like a whole community of garden “accountability partners.” 😉 Every month I’ll give updates and pictures regarding the process of keeping my new garden. This is the first!
Spring Has Sprung!
In Reno, we often have winter until well into May. That means our gardens get planted pretty late in the year. But for this month, I figure I can go over what I plan on planting and why, the kinds of processes I’m employing to make my garden as automated as possible so that even I might be able to have some awesome veggies and flowers this year–even with my tendencies of being lazy in the yard.
Eat What I Sow
The biggest reason I’ve always wanted to take after my family and get good at growing things is I’m dying to grow my own natural, tasty, organic vegetables. As you all know, I’m bad at consuming vegetables, but when they’re home grown and fresh, they’re much easier to take. This year, I think the best way for me to have a fighting chance at a great garden is to try for a) veggies and fruits bees will love (in prep for my hopeful next year), b) things that will be easy-ish to grow, and c) those which I’ll actually eat.
I get both the Burpee and the Gardener’s Supply Co. Catalogs. (Not that I’ve ever needed them. Haha.) While I’ve ordered from them before, I decided recently that I won’t order plants anymore because of the way they’re sent (and my dearly departed pup’s tendency to dig them up).
Also, though I’d love to be able to order some of the heirloom tomato and pepper seeds I’m seeing, I think for tomatoes at least I need to buy the plants. I think that’s a better idea beginner-wise.
So this year I was planning to order a fair few seeds and tubers from Burpee, but I decided to purchase the seeds at Lowe’s and I’ll fill in with plants from Lowe’s later instead. Here’s the list of what I’m going to try for (again) this year:
Seeds:
Lettuce
Kale
Yukon Gold Potatoes
Cucumbers
Zucchini
Jalapeno
Plants to Buy:
Lavender
Tomatoes — I used to get three different types. This year I think I’ll get all cherry tomatoes. My mom always has thousands of these because she has a very easy time growing them. (Though, of course, that’s my mom who’s a freaking fabulous green thumb. 😉 ) But I’m hoping that means they’ll be the easiest for me to try.
Left Over from Last Year (a miracle):
Raspberries
Mint
The Year of the Flower
My Flower is gone. She was my baby for a very short, but very full, while. My family has been amazing both during Flower’s illness and in my time of loss. They loved my baby almost as much as I did.
When my mom found out about Flower’s diagnosis, she suggested we all make this year the “Year of the Flower.” Of course, for the rest of my family, this is easy (my mom admitted to me the other day that one of her cutest trees in the front yard is there because she stuck a peach bit in the ground when she was finished eating it). For me, this will be work. But it’s work I’m ready to do in the name of my wonderful baby.
I already have a few flowers at my house. My most favorite things are those which are wonderfully scented and vibrantly colored. Last year, I planted both a lilac bush and a forsythia, and later planted a climbing honeysuckle on my window sill so I can open the window in the summer to wonderful smells. I also purchased and planted a couple of lavender plants as I love lavender lemonade and am hoping to grow and dry my own lavender.
When I bought the house, there were also two trees with a white flower on
them that flower in the early spring. It’s a wonder any of these things survived, but many of them did, and this year I’m committing to double down and let my garden flourish.
There are two other reasons this will hopefully be a bit easier for me to commit to growing some things this year than in years’ past.
A New Home
My parents just bought a new home this year. This is the first new home they’ve had since I was born. As I’ve said, my mom is a wonderful green thumb and has decided this is the “Year of the Flower.” Because they’ve moved to a place with a smaller yard, she isn’t going to be able to transfer all the plants she’d like from the old home to the new. Instead, she’s offered the rest of us in the family, choice of our favorite transferable plants from her wonderful garden to put in our own.
Many of these plants have come from other family homes including my grandparents’ summer home at Lake Almanor, my other grandmother’s previous home here in Reno, and plants given to my mom by many of my other favorite people in the whole world.
I’m hoping that the sentimentality of these gifts will keep me committed to making sure these transfers take.
Bee Food
I was hoping this year to get permission from my HOA to have a Flow Hive put in behind my house. While they didn’t approve the hive this year, I’m hoping to maintain a great bee garden so that I can be ready if and when they do approve it.
I love honey and I utilize it in many culinary and beauty ways because it has several amazing benefits. I also hope to try and review the Flow Hive as a total beginner.
I know that sometimes new beekeepers don’t get a lot of honey the first year, but my hope is that with a thriving garden with lots of flowers and vegetable plants that bees love, I’ll get enough honey to bribe my neighbors into loving the hive and showing the HOA it’s a great thing.
Things I’m Doing to Lighten the “Blackness” of my Thumb by Automating Plant Care
Last year, I installed an automatic timed watering system and soaker hoses. I kept more things alive than I ever have before. I’m sure it’s because of the automation. This year, though I’m completely committed to doing more daily work for my yard than ever before, I also plan on making things even more automated than they have been in the past.
First, I’m going to get some more soaker hoses. They worked wonders last year, and I think they’re a huge part of the reason my few things that did survive last year lived. I’m also planning on taking more time to view the soakers and really time things effectively. While it might take a few days to perfect, I’ll make sure to let you all know what I end up finding out.
So welcome to the first installment of “Confessions of a Black Thumb”! Hopefully my community of accountability partners will not only help my garden flourish, but maybe my journey can help someone else to solve their own Black Thumb issues. 🙂
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