One Grain of Sand at a Time

Slowly, ever so incredibly slowly, I am finishing projects and getting stuff off my plate. Example: my wee garden.

Last year I'd attempted a hanging garden on our back deck. Soil real estate is pretty rare at our place, so I gave it a try. All in all, it worked pretty well, and I felt all crafty and DIY about it. We tried tomatoes, beans, peppers, and something else; I forget. You never had to bend over, weeding wan non-existant, and it was cool to look at the garden shading the windows when we sat down to eat at the table.

Bummer was, there was just not *quite* enough sunlight where we'd hung them, although it was the sunniest spot in the back. So, we didn't have a huge bountiful harvest, but it was still fun and cool, and I learned a few things for trying it this year.

Over the winter, I realized that there's plenty of sun along the house outside our front door, as witnessed by the big beefy rose bushes that grew there. I looked into hanging the garden above the roses, but sadly, tomatoes and roses just should not be planted together. That, and getting the garden in place, much less picking anythng, would be a major pain in the ass, arms, face, chest and hands. I got approval to relocat ethem, and the project was on.

Long story short, that took a lot longer to do than I thought. The roses were a bitch and no one really wanted to tackle the problem. The soil needed a serious shot in the arm and mixed up real good. Ladders needed to be climbed to drill and hang the hooks. Potting soil needed to be bought. Ladders needed to be climbed again. Seedlings and a new hose also needed to be purchased. Toddlers needed to be chased.

But today, after about 3 months of poke, poke poking at it and getting frustrated walking past a not-really-even-halfway-done-yet project every day, its done! We've got tomatoes, summer squash, cucumbers and zucchinis hanging, and in the actual ground, we're gonna try edamame, pole beans, red peppers, carrots, onions and beets! (Whizz also planted some melon-y, vine-y type things too.) Oh, and some flowers for color to grow on the bed frame (yes, its a 'flower bed') that I picked up for free and strawberries in the special strawberry pot that I also got for free.

I'm really excited to see everything grow! I think its gonna look amazing when everything is really in full bloom. That big blank white wall will be full of greens, yellows, reds and purples, and the hanging plants should throw a bunch of shade over the Whizz windows too (mid-summer just bakes those.)

It feels a bit strange to have finished this project -- any project. I feel a bit... unanchored. Adrift. Don't get me wrong, I have got a full fuckload of homework alone to prevent me from taking time to sleep this week. But it still feels weird.

I'll post more pix as things bloom. By the way, I've got an entire egg tray full of tomato plant seedlings that I grew myself. Need some?