Gardening

So I have had this vision for a few years now ... it's been my dream to have a cottage garden in our backyard--for several reasons:

• first, we have a tiny backyard and a tiny house, so cottage style fits our small space.
  


• secondly, I have always LOVED the wild, out-of-control, natural look of a cottage garden (maybe we can attribute that to growing up in rural Southern Illinois?!).
  


• Also, our entire backyard is visible from our living room and dining room, so I want to look at something beautiful this summer instead of the horrendous view you see here:



• and, I want to teach Carlos about the process and the benefits of growing herbs and vegetables (I know--I'm such a teacher. I just can't help it).



• lastly, I want to enjoy cut flowers in our house this summer, but I'm waaaaay too cheap to buy them on a regular basis.
  

I have already made several mistakes and am learning. Here are some pics:


Notice any mistakes?! The extreme "legginess" was an issue and almost all of them have died. Well, we live and we learn.

So I'm on my second go-round now. I'll post those (much more promising) pics when there's a break in the rain.


So I'm really excited!!! What am I going to be enjoying this summer? {fingers crossed!}

• corn (supposedly really sweet, Sugarpearl variety)





• bell peppers (California Wonder)





• beefsteak tomatoes and cherry tomatoes
  




• green beans (Garden Bean Provider variety)





• carrots (these are supposed to be extremely sweet and tender)





• and a ton of herbs

I'm considering planting Roma tomatoes as well, because they make excellent sauce.

In the way of flowers, I should be enjoying:

• zinnias





• delphinium





• lavendar





• sunflowers






• poppies





• ranunculus {LOVE these!!--it's my feeble attempt at enjoying peonies in this climate! ;) }




• and some more annuals that I haven't figured out yet

I'm also planting some perennials and biennials so I can enjoy a garden in full bloom all next spring and summer:

• coneflowers



• shasta daisies



• foxgloves



• hollyhocks



• canterbury bells, and



• black-eyed susans.

I also want to plant a raspberry bush and a blackberry bush, but I might not plant them till next year because I want to do a lot of research and get the sweetest varieties.