Finally in bloom...

This summer my flower boxes are in a sad state. Knowing we were going to be moving this summer, I didn't want to spend a substantial amount of money on flowers we would only be able to enjoy for a little while. Not knowing where we'd be moving to or if we'd be able to use our flower boxes at our new place, I wanted to keep things simple. Almost too simple...

I thought I was being clever. Let me tell you, when you come up with what you think is a great idea that NO ONE else has ever thought of, it's probably because it's really not a terribly great idea after all. My genius plan was to plant wild flowers in my flower boxes. Yes, wild flowers. Not only plant them, but plant them from seeds. Truly genius, right? I'm shaking my head at myself... What's even better is that I roped my mom into it all. Poor woman was probably afraid to argue with her postnatal and hormonal daughter and just rolled with it. Why not?! Well, this is why not...

and here's another reason...

When you plant wild flowers in a flower box, you end up with weeds... Ok, they might not really be weeds, but honestly, they seriously look like them. I really though I was being brilliant. I mean, the flowers on the seed packet were gorgeous with all these beautiful colors. I thought we'd have the beauty of the nearby farm fields right at our doorstep. I should have thought about that for a second and remembered that those farm fields have wild flowers that stand over two feet high. Yep, that's what my wild flowers are attempting to do here as well. It looks truly bizarre.

We do finally have a bloom. After a month of a cold snap delaying all the flowers in Germany, and my brilliance of planting wild flowers from seed, it only took two months to get a flower. Hahaha, I crack myself up.

Where I am a teeny bit proud is of my garden. I planted my little garden from seed this year as well. Although I don't have a single tomato or pepper yet, I'm impressed by how well it's all growing. Hard to believe they started off as little seeds just a couple months ago. And my herbs are super green and they smell incredible.

Here's how they started....

And this is what I have now...

cherry tomatoes (back left), orange peppers (back right), and beautiful herbs up front

Impressive, right? You can easily tell that I am new to this, and my green thumb is practically non-existent. But it's fun to grow your herbs and veggies from scratch and actually have something edible. Next year I need to plant things much, much earlier. Big R had a grandfather who was an amazing gardener, and he was definitely questioning my timing to grow these veggies. But I'm determined to find at least one harvest of tomatoes before the summer is over.

So, as it turns out, our new house has a yard - both front and back - and a cute porch and garden level walk-out. These areas all need a lot of work because they've been neglected for quite awhile.

our new porch - starring little r

view of our front yard

Considering it might take a week or more to get our furniture delivered, our plan is to have some fun at the garden center in town making our new home beautiful. I can't wait to get some real flowers for my flower boxes, and find some other things to help pretty things up. I'll bring you an update after we get things in presentable shape.

I'm starting to get really excited about this move :)

xoxo

 

 

 

 

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My Mini Harvest

One of the things I promised myself I would do while living here in Germany is start a garden. I wasn't very detailed about what type of garden I would grow, and I was honestly a tad bit intimidated to sow some fields in this world of professional gardeners we live amongst in Bavaria. I was at a loss for where to start. Seems silly, doesn't it? So, I took my time watching others in our neighborhood prepare their beautiful gardens for summer.

What never occurred to me was that having a little garden on your porch can be just as much fun and equally as gratifying, especially for a novice like me. When I went home to visit my sister for her wedding, I saw this amazing porch garden she and her new hubby had created, and I was envious! But I was also incredibly inspired. For some reason this didn't seem all that tough anymore. When we got home from our trip to the U.S., I decided it was time to take the plunge and start planting.
I spent some time talking to my neighbor, Anette, about the garden she created on her porch upstairs. She filled me in on where some of the best places were in town to buy the plants. Oh yeah, right, you mean it's not necessary to grow tomatoes from a seed in the ground?! No wonder I was intimidated! So, I took a trip to the local OBI (think Home Depot or Lowe's), and bought a few pots, a tomato plant, a pepper plant, and a bunch of herbs. I picked out some healthy gardening soil, and piled it all into the car with a proud smile. (There's that dork factor again - ha!)
This is what I created...my little porch garden, and I love it:

Anette promised me it was simple. She said you only have to water them. They do all the growing on their own, you hardly have to do a thing. Considering I'm raising a toddler and a small zoo, I'm thinking this might not be too terribly tough afterall. Something tells me I'll always remember to give them some water-love.

These little plants have been producing like crazy. Barely a month later, and I have had several ripe peppers and many beautiful red tomatoes. The herb garden blossomed and completely consumed its pot. Pure awesomeness.

This is what my sweet little porch garden looks like these days:

It really was easy, and the harvest from these plants is incredible. I use the herbs regularly for cooking and the tomatoes and peppers are so flavorful. Something tells me the warm Bavarian sun has a lot to do with the success of this garden. Our porch provides just the right amount of sun, and I was able to position my plants to shelter them from the brutal winds we receive during our summer storms.

I pulled another harvest from my plants today to create a salad for book club tonight. Just look at these veggies!

I made a summer quinoa salad using mostly veggies from my garden with a few other necessary ingredients (including the olive oil my sister and her hubby purchased for us at their villa in Tuscany). I can't wait to share this salad with the other ladies tonight. I took a taste and I'm still amazed at how fresh and flavorful the tomatoes are. I hope the book clubbers agree!

I'm glad this gardening experience has been so positive because I really enjoy making meals for my family with food we grew on our own. My guess is I'll probably stick to the porch garden for a little while longer, and maybe if we are stationed somewhere green with rich soils, I'll branch out and try my hand at creating the real deal.

Have you ever grown a garden? I would love to hear about it if you have or if you have any tips to share. I'm hoping this is the first season of many that we eat beautiful vegetables all summer from our very own garden.

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