Details Of Our First-Ever Garden

Considering the way we eat, it makes sense that we would enjoy growing our own food, but I didn't know just how much until now. My whole family is enthralled with our new garden! We can't stop admiring it!

The best part: we all worked together!

I read several books and talked about a vegetable garden for years, but my list of excuses was long until my husband said, "Let's do this thing!" {When he's in the mood, I've learned to take him up on it. He's a great helper!}

So when I saw these great looking plants at Whole Foods last week, I brought them home.

The beginnings of a perfect salad garden: mixed lettuces, radicchio, spinach, ping pong radishes and cupid tomatoes.

But where to plant them? We have a few "problems" in our back yard.

Problem 1: Our back "yard" is more like a courtyard. {We live in the heart of the city.} No grass. Just a deck stone pavers surrounded by greenery to make things cozy. A die hard gardener might rip out the landscaping for veggies, but I didn't want to give up our existing plants.

Problem 2: Not enough sunlight. Houstonians love their trees. We're desperate for beauty and shade in these parts! Finding a spot that would get the recommended six hours would be tricky.

Problem 3: We have a tailored, tidy landscape style {and interior design style...who am I kidding?}. Haphazard isn't my thing, so throwing lettuces in with boxwoods, red tip photinias, begonias and confederate jasmine just wasn't going to work for me visually.

Behold the neat and tidy garden!

{An aerial view of our new garden.}

Looks like we solved all of our "problems!" That's my husband's specialty. He's a fixer...of the human body {here} and now a garden! {I love that men are born fixers! A perfect balance to all of our over-thinking as women!}

And not only does my man love to fix things, but he's LOVES taking them apart! Good bye steps! We need your sunny spot for our garden!

The bottom step was rotting anyway. {Good thing we have another set of steps outside our back door!} And is it just me, or is there something extra admirable and attractive about a hard-working, hammer-swinging husband?

{I'm blushing!}

Back to the details of the garden! So we decided on containers, but you know me: the containers had to look good. The visual appeal of a garden is as inspiring to me as the taste!

Bordeaux wine boxes are perfect for this
French speaking wine lover!

Here's where I skipped a step for the sake of instant gratification: I should've weatherproofed the boxes. {You don't want to use chemicals on your food containers, so no polyurethane. One of my books suggested three coats of Danish oil and metal brackets to brace the corners.}

But this first attempt at gardening was meant to be a one-day, just do it kind of project. {Otherwise I'd still be reading, planning and giving up as I've done in years past.} I'll seal the next round of wine crates for sure.

Here's where we were really blessed: my sister made this platform for my husband's clinic years ago. He no longer needs it at the office, so he thought to bring it home for our garden project.

The perfect height!

I still need to seal the table and would love to line the top with a thin sheet metal. (Wouldn't weathered zinc be cool?!?!} My husband drilled holes in the table and in the bottom of the crates for drainage, and to lift the crates off the table just a bit, he cut wine corks in half and placed them underneath. Brilliant!

Enough tips from this amateur. I'll let the photos do the talking!

{Tip from Real Simple: use a bowl to amplify your phone speakers.}

If a vegetable or salad garden overwhelms you, try herbs.

Talk about a simple, fresh way to cook!
{See a sample dinner here.}

Rome wasn't built in a day, and I'm sure great gardens aren't either, but a one-day garden project was the perfect start for our family. Sure we had to skip a few steps to accomplish this in a day, but it was worth it for us. A little instant gratification goes a long way...especially with children. Now they're hooked!

As our patience and confidence increases, we'll try a few things from seeds {peas, arugula and more mixed greens sound good}.

If you've been thinking about a garden for a long time, here's your gentle nudge: GO FOR IT! Don't over think it.

And don't get too stuck on what to plant. My brain works best when things are organized, so it helped me to pick a theme {salad...because I heard lettuces are easy to grow}. Bottom line: plant what you love to eat! 

I still have lots to learn...like when to cut the lettuce? How many times will it grow back? Can I replant new lettuce in the same box or do I have to switch to something else? {Is that what "crop rotation" means? Or does that only apply to next season?}

I'm sure I'll learn most of these things by trial and error {messing up is good therapy for a recovering perfectionist}, but please feel free to share your successes, failures, tips and tricks! 


Hugs to you from a happy new gardener,


P.S. My favorite book during the preparation phase was Garden Anywhere. Now that the plants are in the ground, Grow Your Own Food is straight forward and simple. My oldest daughter loves Soil Mates.  {We flipped through it at Anthropologie. Cute, funny and practical.}