Landscape Garden

We don't have a designated "garden" this year. We're renting and didn't want to tear up the lawn, plus we knew we didn't have time and energy for a real garden. We did, however have empty landscape beds around the house, so we spent a few dollars at Lowe's on Mother's Day and put in a couple of our favorite things.

Since we didn't plant from seed, some things like basil have been producing for us all summer, but other things are just starting to come to fruition! Today was what seemed like the first harvest--finding four cucumbers big enough to pick!

So for our records I busted out the ever-ready cell phone and snapped some pictures of our little landscape garden, as of the third week in July.

We planted these cherry tomatoes for the kids. They've been asked to wait until they turn red, but after than they can pick and eat when they want.

Here's another angle of the cherry tomatoes, which have been the right size for a couple weeks. When will they ever ripen?

I adore eggplant. I know some people don't like the texture, but I've never had issues with that. For some reason they've never done well in the garden for me, so I'm excited about this little guy that's about the size of an apple.

Something is obviously enjoying the leaves of this sweet bell pepper plant, but since the tiny peppers are still doing fine, we're leaving it.

The largest peppers about the size of the cherry tomatoes, but growing fast!

Beefsteak tomatoes are the epitome of summer to me. I can't wait to have a big slice on a piece of gluten-free bread with lots of mayo! And maybe some of the basil you'll see in a big. Mmmm!

I think these tomatoes (above) are supposed to turn yellow. I like those. Somehow they're more mellow than red tomatoes. Yum.

Then of course there are roma tomatoes! Romas mean bruschetta to me. Another summer staple.

This cucumber looks a little funky, but oh well! I'm so tired of spending money on cucumbers and I'm thrilled we got to pick four today! I love cucumber sandwiches and lots of cucumbers in Greek salads too. Hopefully we won't have to buy any more this summer.

Sadly our parsley disappeared (rabbits? squirrels? the wood chip mulch?) and our cilantro bolted so fast I couldn't make it stop, but our basil is big and healthy!

These (below) are jalepeno peppers, our oldest son's request. He and his daddy have shared about three, but they've decided to wait a couple weeks to see if they get spicier. Looks like we have most of the ingredients for salsa!

The one thing missing from our garden is zucchini. We planted several hills but they got rained out and I haven't replaced them yet. I still can, right?

Do you have a garden? Do you throw a few things into your landscaping? I think it's the best way to garden and I'd like to do it on a bigger scale when we have our own property again.

Ok, I'm off to figure out some way to enjoy cucumbers and basil with our supper. We were going to have tacos... Hmm.

Vine-Ripe Tomatoes {Recipe}

If you were to take a walk up the hill here at Weimar, you'd come to this certified organic garden with amazing views.

Not too far from that is a big greenhouse.

If you come in the middle of the day like we did, you might startle a deer or two out of their siesta.

Take a closer look at the greenhouse and you'll see that it's chock-full of tomatoes!

The students and their families are allowed to pick the tomatoes that aren't pretty enough for market.
 

For some reason, many of the tomatoes are split down the sides. I've heard that rain can make that happened, but I've been here for two months and it hasn't rained... 

The boys and I have loaded up on all the tomatoes we can eat several times! 

They can't go to the greenhouse without eating a warm, vine-ripe tomato or two!

I've been adding tomatoes to everything--salads, sandwiches, pasta dishes. I made salsa too. Today I wanted to show you the simple way I make bruschetta. 

Wash and chop 5-6 of those vine-ripe tomatoes. Add a teaspoon of salt, a generous drizzle of extra-virgin olive oil, and a large handful of fresh basil, also chopped. Mince 3-4 cloves of garlic, then stir it all up.

Enjoy as a topping on crusty Italian bread.

Tonight we ate the crusty bread and bruschetta with homemade tomato soup! This recipe is so easy, and a great way to use up a bunch of those tomatoes. Here's how:

Chop up an onion, several stalks of celery and a couple carrots. Saute them in olive oil until tender. Meanwhile, clean and take the tops off about 10 large tomatoes. When the veggies are soft, blend them in a high-speed blender with the tomatoes. You might need to work in batches. You also can add vegetable broth (I use water with a vegan "chicken" seasoning powder) to make the blending easier. Return the pureed mix to the pot and add about 4 cups of vegetable broth if you haven't already. Simmer until thickened. Salt and pepper to taste. 

Have you enjoyed any vine-ripe tomatoes lately?

Wordless Wednesday: Camomile

 

Fixin' Up the Garden

I've been way too busy sorting boxes in the basement and planning a triple birthday party to spend much time in the garden. (I'll post party pics after I get them from my friends with cameras!)

We have lots of volunteer vegetation  in our garden this year. Some of it we actually want! My job today was taking the unwanted--weeds--out of a couple raised beds. 
 

Half an hour of pulling weeds...

I uncovered some garlic growing in this raised bed, as well as broccoli from last year and some lettuce (it's hiding!). 

There it is! My 5-year-old and I picked a bunch of lettuce to eat for lunch. Yum!

This is last year's broccoli gone to seed. I would normally pull it out, but my husband tells me his bees really like broccoli flowers.

 
Our onions have lost of broken-off tops due to a couple of little boys around here who like snacking on them.

Raised bed #2 looked messier to start with, but most of it is weeds. 

Not too impressive, but at least we have somewhere to plant new things! 

I also found some spinach (above) and more lettuce (below).

There are more raised beds and hours worth of work left to get our garden looking nice again, but it feels good to have chipped away at some of the mess! 


Here's something else I found growing voluntarily: 

Cilantro! I also found parsley, but didn't get a picture.
 

Our garden is home to a huge patch of strawberries! I'm super excited to see these growing and can't wait until they turn red!

What's in your garden this year? Do you put off weeding until your garden is a mess sometimes? Want to come help me? 

Inspiration Files: Not Your Average Garden

I wasn't a gardener before moving to Iowa. In fact, we didn't have a garden at all at our first house. When we moved out here in the country, we couldn't wait for spring so we could have a huge garden--and huge it was! Like a quarter acre of weeding to do... I've learned a lot in three years of gardening! Nothing like jumping in and going for it! Since spring is in the air, I thought you'd like to see a collection of interesting, unique, inspirational or just plain beautiful garden ideas I've been collecting on Pinterest. You don't have to have a few acres in the cornfields of Iowa to pull off some of these ideas either! 

Source: urbangreens.tumblr.com via Ellie on Pinterest

Source: littlegreencreeps.tumblr.com via Ellie on Pinterest

Source: forums.gardenweb.com via Ellie on Pinterest

Source: doorgarden.com via Ellie on Pinterest

Source: thischickcooks.blogspot.com via Ellie on Pinterest

Source: Uploaded by user via Ellie on Pinterest

Source: marthastewart.com via Ellie on Pinterest

Source: fishesandchips.tumblr.com via Ellie on Pinterest

Source: bhg.com via Ellie on Pinterest

Source: sunset.com via Ellie on Pinterest

Source: marthastewart.com via Ellie on Pinterest

Source: brooklynlimestone.com via Ellie on Pinterest

Source: bhg.com via Ellie on Pinterest

Source: poppytalk.blogspot.com via Ellie on Pinterest

Beauty 4 Ashes garden, 2010

 
From jars on your window sill to containers on your patio to raised beds with attention to colors and textures, it looks like if you can imagine it, it can grow! 

What about you? Do you garden? Did you wish you had the space and just learn that you do? Or do you have acres of untamed wilderness that you strive to make beautiful as well as edible?