My Gradually Growing Garden

When we moved a couple of years ago, I told myself I was going to simplify things. We now had a smaller yard so it would be less maintenance. We wouldn’t have a pool since our new neighborhood has two. And I wasn’t going to have a garden anymore. I was tired of keeping up with it.

Well, I can’t change the size of the yard, but our pool was finished in December. It’s little, but it’s been perfect this summer. Because of its size, it is easy to care for.

I’ve also been steadily increasing the size and number of our flowerbeds so that they are starting to resemble a garden again…right down to the edible crops. I think, at the time we moved, I was just tired and needed to reset. Having a new house helped, but once we got settled, I couldn’t deny that I truly missed gardening. It’s in my blood as much as anything. My grandfather grew mounds of fruits and veggies that he would cook (he was a chef) and/or preserve. It was one of the highlights of my childhood going to visit him about twice a year just so I could see what he had grown. Mealtime was pretty great as well.

My dad made a few attempts at vegetable gardening when I was growing up, but it was never constant enough for my liking. I usually helped my mom take care of the few flowerbeds we had around the house and nurtured my green thumb that way.

When we moved to our previous house, one of the first things I did was build raised garden beds. I started with two, four-foot by four-foot beds, and that increased to four beds within the next couple of years. By the time we moved, I had flower and garden beds all over the yard. It just happened.

My intention at our current house is to line one side of our fence most of the way down with raised beds. I got a good start a few months ago, but I haven’t wanted to shell out to buy lumber for more raised beds since the cost of lumber has skyrocketed recently. Fortunately, the prices seem to be receding. So, I’ve been cramming more crops into my smaller space and using pots a lot. But one day (hopefully) soon, I’ll expand and have even more garden beds in my tiny backyard.

This time, I think, it’ll be for keeps.