What Ana Does

Exhibit A: The Tomato Plants I am a very lazy gardener. I've said it before and I'll say it again. But here's the thing ... you don't have to be in your garden every day pulling out weeds and looking for slugs for it to work. It's so friggin' easy to grow food in your backyard, it's not even a joke. A friend came over the other day as I was pulling peppers to eat with our dinner and she made a big deal about it, "where do you find the time?!" What time? Sure, if you're a farmer and your livelihood depends on how much you grow, you're going to work your butt off to make sure each plant yields the most fruit/veg. This is not my full-time job. And barely a hobby. Here's my time commitment: I spend a Spring afternoon getting the beds ready. Another morning tossing whatever I find/have/want into those beds. Not even a full day. Then, when I notice it hasn't rained in a while, I walk outside and turn on the hose for 15 minutes...

This weekend, Dave and I spent Sunday morning trimming everything that was out of control in the backyard. Even after three hours, we only just made a dent in the madness -- but we created a HUGE pile of twigs and roots. Accomplished!  Despite a bruised knuckle, it was well worth it to see this back landscaped area cleaned up. Related posts: More "backyard" news

The landscapers came and cleared out all the weeds around the raised beds ... all in under four hours. Hooray! I've got some plans to drop in a few hydrangea bushes under the windows and maybe something nice-smelling near the door. But didn't want to attempt in the middle of the summer. I learned that lesson the hard way. Until then, now that I can actually get to my raised beds without a machete to clear a path through the weeds, maybe I'll consider planting a late-summer crop. Squash? Pumpkins? Related links: More BACKYARD posts

I'm not exactly sure how it happened, but the area around my two raised beds turned into a jungle of weeds. Some, as tall as me! Maybe it was all the rain we've had, my total lack of interest in pulling the weeds when they were a reasonable size, the failure of the weed guard lining I put down last year, and not getting the mulch down as planned. Ok, so I know how it happened. I should also point out I only planted half the raised beds this summer. Sigh. And the cucumber vines are harassing the tomato plants, but more on that later. Anyway, what we ended up with is a freaking disaster! And breeding ground for mosquitos and other pesky insects. Can you even spot the two raised beds through this tangled mess? Before: Overgrown Weeds and Raised Beds  Never fear! I called in my landscape guy and he's sending a crew this week to clean up the weeds, put down a better weed guard and mulch. All hail contracting out tedious work! After picture coming soon .... ...

Right outside my screen door to the backyard there is a long-neglected space I'm committed to cleaning up ... next year. It's got some unruly rose bushes and weeds galore. This year, something surprising popped up.  As I've mentioned, I'm in the habit of throwing produce out into my backyard, especially in Fall and Winter. Well, as a by-product of that weird habit, I now have a pumpkin or squash plant sprouting in that spot I dumped last year's Halloween gourds. How fun! The Plant Outside My Door

I was a busy bee on Sunday! I rolled out of bed and hit the front annual bed before it got too hot to be in the sun. While the girls rode bikes and chalked up the driveway, I dug and planted like a madwoman. I tried some new things this year, purple and red verbena and some taller white geraniums in the back. A few zinnias, too. Can't wait to see it all fill in. BEFORE: Front Garden is Plotted Out with Three Flats of Flowers AFTER: Front Garden Watered and Ready to Grow Then, I headed back to the veg and herb gardens. I tried to wait until dinnertime but by 2pm the girls begged for the slip n' slide. So while they played water games to keep cool, I planted everything we got at the garden center on Saturday morning.  And sweated. It was nearly 90 degrees! The dog even gave up on being outside, and found a cool place to sleep. Not only did the veg get planted and a few seeds (not all yet) sown, I also hit the sunflower bed I plotted out back by the pine trees....

The guys came this week to remove the huge juniper bushes that hugged up against my house and snaked behind my raised beds. WOW! They were so out of control and their needles were so prickly, they've been a literal thorn in my foot since we moved in. I'm sooo thrilled they are almost gone! Juniper Bush Is Gone! My plan is to plant huge hydrangea under the dining room windows -- something that blossoms and adds color to the backyard. I'm also considering adding another raised bed -- this one longer and thinner. But I'll have to check out the space. In the meantime, I have a lovely little greenhouse (a gift from Dave) to install. Does that mean it's Spring? Related links: More BACKYARD posts

It's July in my two raised beds, and they're looking great! Admittedly, I've been a little lax on thinning out the seedlings. This is something I'll need to remember next year when it comes time to sow the seeds. The carrots especially are right on top of each other -- meaning the seeds were more successful than we thought -- but I need to be more aggressive in thinning. I'm confused about the onions . The books say to wait until the stalk dies, then pull the bulbs -- but that sounds contrary to me. I'll do more research. The herbs also need to be harvested and dried. I'll attempt that this week -- how hard can that be?! Mostly Veggies in This Garden. Beans in the Back, Broccoli in the Middle, Onions Spiking Up and Lettuce in the Front. I Harvested the Second Round of Lettuce This Weekend, Too. Herbs Here: Parsley and Sage in the Back, Thyme and Cilantro in the Middle, Basil and a Lone Strawberry Up Front. The Cilantro Was Harvested This We...