This year, my dad cleared out an area in the back garden, tilling away all the grass that had grown up there. This was nice, as I had a lot to plant! (Too bad I had to split the space with my younger brother, who was only interested in planting a few melons). So, let's begin the tour!
The Porch
My front garden has a lot of things jam packed, due to lack of room (and bad gardening sense from me). I recently dug up all the mint I planted in the ground last year - since I found out they were invasive - and put them in pots. Hopefully I got it all. On a side note, they probably aren't the exact pure varieties since they had opportunity to cross-propogate for a year. Anyways, there's three varieties: Citrus, Chocolate, and Common.
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| Three varieties of mint in pots: Citrus, Chocolate, and Common. |
My dad had some sweet potatoes that were already rooting (with leaves!) on the living room table, so I decided to try growing them. I separated a few shoots and placed them in pots. Hopefully they grow well!
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| Four sweet potato plants in two black pots. |
I also tried to grow ginger from a root in the store, but there's no picture because it failed to sprout. Hopefully it sprouts soon. Finally, my mom bought me a pineapple plant from Trader Joe's, and it hasn't been growing at all. It came with the fruit on it. The cactus plants behind it are my other little brother's.
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| A store-bought pineapple plant. |
The Front Garden
I have all sorts of things here. However, it's not good for everything to be by the house, which is why I'll try to fit more things in the backyard garden. First things first, we will visit the side closest to the porch. There's some things purchased from the local nursery: Two Roma tomato plants (purchased with green tomatoes on it for only $2 each!), two bell pepper plants (one up front and the other in the far left corner) and a lavender plant. I'm interested in making lavender tea with this, so hopefully it's possible. The other tomato plant to the left is from Home Depot. It's nearing the end of its production, sadly. Finally, there's a small bit of oregano I purchased from the 99 cents store.
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| Right side of the front garden. |
Next we have a random tree that sprouted from the days when I was guerrilla gardening a few years back. I think it's apple, but it may not actually produce anything since it's from a store fruit. There's also a few carrots that have been in the ground for over a year. They were stunted since I didn't pull any up, so I need to pull the rest up and get the ground free for other things. To the back (and behind my shadow), there are a few sunflowers my mom purchased for me from a yard sale. Below that, and hardly visible, there are the sage and chives plants from the 99 cents store. Yes, I had been very happy to see quality herb plants there! To the left, there's an organic tomato variety my brother ordered for me from an online seed distributor. I forgot the variety name.
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| Middle area of the front garden. |
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Finally, this is the end of the garden. I allowed the lettuce to flower, so I may get seeds out of it! At the very end, I planted some dead mini-roses and one came back, producing a nice pink rose. I also planted a box of random flowers, and they seem to be sprouting to fill up the empty area nicely. The problem is that the grass and weeds are still non-removable, since they grow deep into the old water sprinkler system. Two years ago, I accidentally cut the electric cord attached to it while trying to deweed, so it leaks water and continually fuels the weeds' growth. Any ideas?
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| Left side of the front garden. |
My next post will be on the back garden, so stay tuned!
