Friday, July 8, 2011

I Love My Garden!

Gardens, to me, are like pieces of paradise.  Especially now when thunderstorms come to visit, drenching the garden in fresh cool rain!  Here in Arizona that's paradise! 

 In only 3 hours the storm built up from this...

...to this!

On my little walk-about, I discovered the laundry still on the line!  Ooops.  Now isn't that just real life?  Or am I just a space-case?  I think a little of both, actually.  Well, at least they'll be kissed by the sun one more time and they ought to smell really wonderful when they make it back in the house!  Maybe this little laps in memory is what embodies 'country' since you can't get sheets or clothes to smell that nice any other way!  You gotta 'earn' it!!!

I like that kind of reasoning...
Yaaaa...

Down inside a cinderblock, the kids found a wonderful garden-dweller...can you see him?
Let me move the leaf for a better view...

...it's a toad!  Yay!  Love to have them in the garden!  It means he's happy here and he'll help out with insects!

The garden gets to feeling like a forest, tall, deep, warm (instead of hot), productive, safe.

That's why I like this shot, makes me feel like I'm in an orchard!
I think I'll stay down here awhile and enjoy the fantasy...

...that's when I notice my Serrano Peppers next to me.  Have any of you ever grown Serranos before?  Mine keep getting knocked off by the wind before they even get to this size.  Another one turned red while is was smaller than these.  How big are they supposed to get before I harvest them?

I try to companion plant.  This Dill finally germinated after what seems like at least a month!  Dill is supposed to be one of those plants that are welcome anywhere in the garden, like Basil, Marigolds, etc.  I'm very happy to see this Dill plant doing well in the 'corn-forest.'

Can you spot all the Bell Peppers?

And here's some more!  Whoohoo!

My son enjoying one of my favorite flowers!  Zinnias!  They're also great at attracting butterflies.  Perfect!

I have no "country style."  My home is not the picture of 'country.'  My kids don't wear home made clothes (wish I was skilled enough to do that!).  I don't even know how to can anything yet.  
Yet...
  About the only thing 'country' about me is the true nitty-gritty of dirt under my fingernails, mud on my sandals, my ever-dirty truck as it bumps up and down these dirt roads, our growing knowledge of raising our own meat, fruits and veggies, and my kids are homeschooled out in the middle of no where!
As a Southwesterner, I'm learning to make perfect flour tortillas, a perfect pot of beans, and maybe one day we'll build a poured concrete home which resembles a Spanish Hacienda.
A girl can dream, can't she?

My Miracle Worker plotting how to make this dream come true...

"Someday, this could all be yours!"
Think we'll pull it off?
Dreams are dreams...you just never know!

I leave you with up to the minute storm pics!


5 comments:

  1. I'm so glad you did a post on your garden!
    I remember it way back when before anything was even planted yet... You might not be country, but you are a farmgirl! Great job... have you and dream boat looked into straw bale homes? We researched them way back when when we were looking into homesteading in the high desert of Nevada.
    Thanks for this today!
    Deb

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  2. Hi. Hope all is well. Like the growing garden,has come a long way since april when I was there.Happy birthday again to those two compadres of yours. Smidgen is taking over up here and her and abby and i now take our walks together,just like when bardahl was still alive. keep it going down there and praying the Lord gives all the help you will need. Papa Gary

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  3. That garden is looking great! I love the toad~it's always nice when there are toads around to eat the mosquitoes!

    Teresa

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  4. I TOTALLY see you in a Hacienda someday! Oh, and edenhills comment makes me giggle! I'd have to have an 18-wheeler trailer full of toads to keep the Central Texas skeeters at bay!

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  5. I’m amazed that you can grow those amazing plants in Arizona. I live in the country side too, but I needed the help of professional landscape designers to help me choose which plants to grow and how to grow them properly.

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