A couple springs ago I fell deeply in love with gardening. Normally I’d just watch and assist when needed, but that year I felt brave enough to take the lead.
I cleared away the overgrowth from the previous summer, tilled the soil, added compost, created the tidiest rows I could manage and sowed seeds of cucumber, squash, zuchinni, bell peppers, tomatoes, and cantaloupe. Each row was thoughtfully planned, hose soakers set in place, and thus began my sprout watch. At the end of each day, I smelled of rich earth and brimmed with joy.
There was delight in each sprout sighting – I was enamored by their tiny green furls bravely pushing aside soil to reach towards the sun.
I became that eccentric girl in yellow rain boots watching over a little plot of earth and playing “Here Comes the Sun” (I quickly adopted the theory that plants love to be serenaded).
It became a tender process, facilitating these little lives the best I could. It’s a cycle that taught me more than I expected: patience, understanding, and acceptance. Patience in everything, understanding through research and time, and the inevitable acceptance when things didn’t quite go to plan.
Despite a rental home that relegates us to potted plants only, I’m determined to have a bit of earth to tend to. I’m not nearly as knowledgeable about container gardens in small spaces and we didn’t build our own containers like we initially wanted to, but I’m hoping with some patience and research, I’ll be able to add some life and apocalypse provisions to our little yard. It may also be our secret mission to keep Lily from digging holes under the fence to visit her buddy next door…
So far, I’ve narrowed my list to 10 pots of:
- Cucumbers (from seeds)
- Tomatoes
- Dill
- Basil
- Rosemary
- Red Sage (to help lure our pollinating friends)
- Daises (that hopefully will be alluring to pollinators, too, though I definitely bought them on a whim)
- Prayer plant (Okay fine, this is an indoor plant, but I may be sneaking back to the nursery for it. I LOVE THEM SO MUCH, and I lost my old one amongst all the moving we did last year.)
I’ve had to swallow a larger budget than usual since we didn’t have any pots, and I also chickened out and mostly bought starter plants instead of seeds. However, we’ll definitely use the pots in the future and now I don’t have to worry about seed germination (which isn’t a big deal when you’re planting a lot, but I’m trying to keep it simple and easy this year).
Let me know if you’ve had a container garden before! I’d love to hear how it went and if you have any tips to share. I’m excited to try cucumbers in a pot – it’s certainly going to be a growing experience (sorry, so much pun potential here 😉).
I’m always perusing Pinterest for more garden ideas and inspiration, too:
Cheers to a joyous spring! 🌼 Kassie
Simply & Softly 