Harvest from the heart

Today I went to wonder around the garden and found that I could do the most rewarding activity. My first real harvest because I needed a basket and I didn't eat everything I picked right away. I am super bad about picking and eating the ripe fruits without sharing. Especially tomitillos yum. In fact it is so bad that yesterday my husband was telling me that the tomitillos were not doing well and he might have to take them out soon. My response was, "Well think of how many tomitillos we have gotten." He smiled at me then asked, "How many would that be because I have only had one." No response from me because I know that he knows that I have eaten a few every morning for a month. Only sharing if I have company in the garden. Listen before you judge my greediness I did full tell everyone I was going to the garden. Just because they did not want to come see what was ready with me means they missed out. Besides that my sweet husband eats as he goes too. Don't be fooled by his sweet loving smile. We all have our weaknesses.  I want to show you what I harvested this morning

Yellow boy tomatoes. Hello boys!

We ate this one. It was sweet and just a little tart and totally perfect.

Onions! I pulled the rest of the yellow onions as they were completely ready. Sadly I found two that were over ripe and went in the compost bin instead of the table.

I know that these babies are small but it turns out that onions don't grow that big on their own.

At least here in good old hot Texas.

This is how you store onions. Braid the top and hang them up. They will last a long time.

This is my first harvest.

I even saved about a dozen tomitillos

I totally did a happy dance when I found these green beans.

Banana Peppers

Jalapenos, bell peppers, and tomatoes.

I picked some of the tomatoes before they were ripe because they will ripen on the counter. If we let them get ripe all the way the bugs and birds are more then happy to help harvest before we can. I am so happy that we are finally getting meal sized harvests. I have tons of swiss chard I need to find a recipe to use them in. Maybe I could do swiss chard rolls. I need to look up some recipes.

I hope you have a happy day filled with love and laughter. Be well my friends.

What's growing on here.

This morning I went out to watch my husband water the garden and then I got inspired. I love being in our backyard so much so that it makes me sad to know that this is not our forever home. We love our house, our garden, our new friends, our church, but the summer heat in south Texas is a real killer. I miss being cold at night, and seeing my breath fog the air, and frost on the window panes, and rain. I want to show you how our garden is doing. I am very happy with it so far this year.

We are going to start with some flowers.

I have sunflowers growing randomly around the fence line. They are always so friendly.

I thought this was an ugly weed, so did my husband. He pulled out a bunch from around the yard.

Not a weed, a poppy. They're there to remind us that beauty comes from the inside.

Isn't she lovely. Maybe I am like a poppy.

Julia Child's Rose. Well it was the only way to get Julia Child over for dinner.

I seriously love this man!

Ever wonder if onions flower? They do.

It starts out looking like a secret and then it just lets go and becomes free.

We can all learn to become free from an onion.

Would you believe that this is part of a berry patch?

The nasturtiums (the red flowers) went wild!

I love all of the flowers around the yard. Doesn't this make you smile a little?

It grows here.

The yellow flowers are from the lettuce saying hello to the purple roses.

75% off rose that we took a chance on. After only a few months it is almost as tall as the fence that is six feet tall. Happy? Yes we are.

 Now on to the fruits and vegetables growing on. I promise I did not take a picture of everything and I am not posting all of the pictures I did take.

Grapes. I can not wait until these turn red, or are they purple. If I even see them before the kids do, which is unlikely because they check the grapes daily.

Last year our tomatoes were sad so this year we planted a lot of tomatoes. At least 20 plants maybe more. I didn't count as I was saying can you fit more in the garden. My husband says, "Maybe."

We have one single orange!

Mexican Limes

Eggplants and peppers. Warning we may have planted lots of peppers.

That little flower might mean an eggplant.

Looking at the tomatoes is like the best egg hunt ever. Can you find the green tomatoes?

Here is a few.

And a few more over here.

The first red tomatoes! Eek. I picked them and let the boys each have one.

This pretty baby is looking for trouble.

Jalapenos. Salsa anyone?

Cayenne peppers are starting to turn red at the tips.

Banana peppers. Come on baby do you do more then dance?

These are lilac bell peppers.

Green bell peppers

More tomatoes. Oh yes.

Yellow bell pepper. Hopefully.

Basil in the middle

Banana peppers

Poblano pepper. Think Chili rellenos.

Peanuts!

We also have cantaloupes, watermelons, asparagus, artichokes, hardy kiwi, and so much more planted. I want to encourage you to grow your own food. Maybe just a tomato plant in a pot, maybe just a few herbs on the back porch, or anything your heart desires. Let me tell you there is nothing more rewarding as making a meal with the food you have grown in the backyard.

I hope your day is filled with the wonder of growth, Love and Laughter. Be well my friends.

12 April 2012 Garden Update

Today my husband went out and did a video of our garden. He does a great job telling you what everything is and how they are doing and even what the future holds as he does a walk through. I hope you enjoy our garden.



I hope that you are encouraged to grow some food in your garden because if we can do it so can you. Plus it is really nice to be able to step in the garden for a bit of rosemary and thyme as a recipe calls for it. Talk about fresh.

I get excited when my husband brings me a bouquet of carrots.

I am not the only one who loves fresh carrots.

I hope that you have a wonderful week filled with Love and Laughter. Be Well my Friends.

Mini Garden update

My yard looks like a meadow and I love it. The "weeds" are flowering, the grass is wild, and there are bugs living in it. I know it is not typical suburban beauty but it is just how I like it. Today for the garden up date is just an over view of the yard. I did not include the right side of the house where I am working on a rose garden and where three of our figs live. Not to worry it will come back around soon. We have company coming so the lawn will be mowed and the garden will be straightened out (meaning pulling out the flowering salad greens and putting in the summer crops) so that it appears to be perfectly happy and ordered. When we have company coming we clean up our act a bit. You know spend a couple of days spring cleaning and getting ready to impress any and all who chose to visit our lovely home. Hopefully we will keep it clean following the deep cleanse. I am getting off topic here is to my meadow in it's last days being free.

This is the view from my back porch. I love it! My husband and I sit out on the back porch at night with a bottle of wine (sometimes) and just enjoy this peaceful setting.

This is also a view from my back porch. Interesting fact about the trees with the yellow flowers. In Paris they use the flowers as a base to most perfumes. They have a lovely sent that at night is really wonderful. Rob told what they were called but I can not pull it out of my brain right this second.

This is looking into our vegetable garden area on the left side of the house. We are hoping that all these trees will block the view of the neighbors.

This is the Pecan Tree. I love how the leaves seem to be floating green clouds.

This is the Pakistan Mulberry tree.

Do you remember this Chocolate Persimmon? It has grown branches that are over a foot in length. It is truly amazing.

This is the Black Mulberry Tree. It is supposed to be the fastest growing fruit tree. We are watching it.

This is some kind of squash, peas, corn, and salad greens.

A view from the inside of the vegetable garden.. These baby Vegetables are mostly tomatoes, and peppers.

We are working on adding a path in between the garden beds. We are going to collect seeds from the flowering plants for next year. 

We wanted a giant head of Broccoli, so we waited for it to keep growing. What we got are yellow flowers. The lesson here is to pick the broccoli when it looks edible.

I feel like I should warn you. My husband is going to take a video of the whole garden and I am going to post it for you to see. I thought it would be easier then three or four complete updates on what's growing on.

I hope that your garden is showing signs of spring and that your day is filled with Love and Laughter. Be well my friends.