We got ants in our pants.
You're supposed to wait until the first week of May, after the chance of frost has passed, but we just couldn't stand it! The forecast doesn't call for any freezing temperatures between now and May 1, so we're just keeping our fingers crossed.
Because if it does frost, that will kill all my beautiful little sprouts.
We started our GARDEN this weekend!!
One of the great things about moving far away from anyone you know is that you get to explore what you like and don't like without anyone nearby having any expectations of you. I've learned things about myself since moving to Asheville that I don't think I would have discovered had we stayed in Birmingham - one of those things is that I really love to garden. There's something so rewarding about being outside, getting your hands a little dirty, and actually watching something you plant grow up into a vegetable!
The idea that at some point in the next few months, I'll have a vegetable garden that I can pick and COOK FROM?? Crazy. 'Til this year, my veggies have come from the produce section at the grocery store.
I feel like growing a garden is a slippery slope to me buying a cow and some chickens and just living off the land.
...who am I??
So here are some pictures of our sweet little garden. We decided to plant squash, zucchini, snap peas, okra, bell peppers, watermelon, and we have a little plot on the edge of the bed for herbs (basil, oregano, parsley, and mint). Strangely enough, we noticed that mint was growing wild before we planted anything else -- leftover seeds from the last tenant of this house. We also found spinach doing the same thing! We tried to transplant it, but we'll see whether or not that worked.
We took full advantage of the mint, though, and have been drinking mint juleps with homemade mint-infused simple syrup all weekend!
Here are some shots of how we spent our Saturday:
As Ina would say, "How easy is that?" Seriously though, there is something really gratifying about picking your own little tiny crop. It's so fun!
Hooray! Can't wait to update the blog with pictures as these little seeds become sprouts. I feel like I have a bunch of vegetable babies growing in the garden. I want to go whisper them bedtime stories and tuck them in at night.
What are you planting? What advice do you have for a first-time gardener?
Happy Monday!