Fruits of our feeble labor. My first season ever of backyard gardening is approaching towards the end, and although the outcome was no where close to what I had hoped in the beginning, I am left with an optimistic outlook for the future season, if there will be another. And look, there were even some things to harvest!
When I was first given the key to the back yard garden, I was frightened at its sheer wilderness. It wasn’t beautiful wilderness like the forests that I take an effort to seek out, but it was an overwhelming field of of seemingly uncontrollable common weeds, worms and slugs, along with starved mosquitos that would gather around me like flies to a carcass. Thanks to a couple of trees that provide my windows with lovely views, the garden was mostly shade- perfect for the pests, not so easy for the wild flowers and fresh vegetables that I so longed to grow.
Being a born and bred city person, I suppose it is natural for me to be drawn to any patch of greenery, and I have dreamt about the rural life since Little House on the Prarie, and the Secret Garden. But the moment that really gave me the desire and the motivation to create my own patch of greenery was 10 years ago, probably after a brunch at Kate’s, when I accidentally stumbled upon the East 6th St. community botanical garden in the East Village. And of course, my natural vision of my garden was something very similar to this.
There are of course, people who find this kind of beauty to be absolutely boring and miserable. My dear sweet man, for one. Unfortunately for him, this is where he often ends up. And these are the reasons.
Everything is so painstakingly planned, and well taken care of. I find the details of the borders especially lovely-
These are the origins of the vision I had engraved in my heart for a long time. But my reality as a rookie without enough time for a real commitment, combined with the limitations of my environment made the challenge even more daunting. Still, I had high hopes. Some images from late spring ~ early summer:
I planted. And then waited. And waited more. And then, I thought perhaps this would help.
Home made green house so bright that the light would leak even after the most secure (or so I thought) sealing. But then shit started popping up!
The first to be harvested were the herbs from the window box, which after 6 years or so of experience, I felt pretty confident about.
Grown from seeds, cilantro, and greek oregano, on the John Derian plate, picked up at the sale for someone very special.
Here is one of the first potable I made with my harvests: strawberry lemonade with mint. It was perfect.
And one of the first edibles I made with my harvests: tofu scramble, at the request of my friend, the hostess of a vegan brunch. The tofu scramble wasn’t memorable and I was reminded that I should probably never make tofu scramble ever again, but the waffles and pancakes by Julia were fantastic, and the brunch was lovely.
After the months of laying down stones, shaping the garden and transplanting the seedlings, work happened, and then summer happened. And now it’s fall, and the way it looks now, it’s not ready for its close up, but I learned. I learned that how ever small the back yard, it’s a shit ton of work for one person. I also learned that gardening is kind of like raising a child in a way. When it’s cute and well behaved, everyone wants to spend some time with it, but it’s not something that you can depend on others to help out with when it’s sick, ugly, or awkward. A friend who helps out in the garden is an amazing friend. I feel lucky to have one, or maybe a few more if I count the ones whom I can occasionally trick into coming out to the garden and keep me company. However, unlike a child, garden can be left neglected for months, and do alright on its own. The laisse-faire façon of gardening suits me well, and here are the plants that sort of agree-
1. sunflowers
2. cucumbers
3. eggplants
4. squash
5. sesame and shiso
6. strawberries
7. most herbs
8. weeds.
Right now my garden is doing just- okay. The long awaited breeze of fall and the rain has left my garden infested with slugs, and with all the sunflowers wilted and finished, the flower patches are looking rather sad. But I think I have successfully paved the way for next year. Also, we have a plethora of shiso and sesame leaves, so please, let me know if you want to take some.
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Fruits of our feeble labor. My first season ever of backyard gardening is approaching towards the end, and although the outcome was no where close to what I had hoped in the beginning, I am left with an optimistic outlook for the future season, if there will be another. And look, there were even some things to harvest!
When I was first given the key to the back yard garden, I was frightened at its sheer wilderness. It wasn’t beautiful wilderness like the forests that I take an effort to seek out, but it was an overwhelming field of of seemingly uncontrollable common weeds, worms and slugs, along with starved mosquitos that would gather around me like flies to a carcass. Thanks to a couple of trees that provide my windows with lovely views, the garden was mostly shade- perfect for the pests, not so easy for the wild flowers and fresh vegetables that I so longed to grow.
Being a born and bred city person, I suppose it is natural for me to be drawn to any patch of greenery, and I have dreamt about the rural life since Little House on the Prarie, and the Secret Garden. But the moment that really gave me the desire and the motivation to create my own patch of greenery was 10 years ago, probably after a brunch at Kate’s, when I accidentally stumbled upon the East 6th St. community botanical garden in the East Village. And of course, my natural vision of my garden was something very similar to this.
There are of course, people who find this kind of beauty to be absolutely boring and miserable. My dear sweet man, for one. Unfortunately for him, this is where he often ends up. And these are the reasons.
Everything is so painstakingly planned, and well taken care of. I find the details of the borders especially lovely-
These are the origins of the vision I had engraved in my heart for a long time. But my reality as a rookie without enough time for a real commitment, combined with the limitations of my environment made the challenge even more daunting. Still, I had high hopes. Some images from late spring ~ early summer:
I planted. And then waited. And waited more. And then, I thought perhaps this would help.
Home made green house so bright that the light would leak even after the most secure (or so I thought) sealing. But then shit started popping up!
The first to be harvested were the herbs from the window box, which after 6 years or so of experience, I felt pretty confident about.
Grown from seeds, cilantro, and greek oregano, on the John Derian plate, picked up at the sale for someone very special.
Here is one of the first potable I made with my harvests: strawberry lemonade with mint. It was perfect.
And one of the first edibles I made with my harvests: tofu scramble, at the request of my friend, the hostess of a vegan brunch. The tofu scramble wasn’t memorable and I was reminded that I should probably never make tofu scramble ever again, but the waffles and pancakes by Julia were fantastic, and the brunch was lovely.
After the months of laying down stones, shaping the garden and transplanting the seedlings, work happened, and then summer happened. And now it’s fall, and the way it looks now, it’s not ready for its close up, but I learned. I learned that how ever small the back yard, it’s a shit ton of work for one person. I also learned that gardening is kind of like raising a child in a way. When it’s cute and well behaved, everyone wants to spend some time with it, but it’s not something that you can depend on others to help out with when it’s sick, ugly, or awkward. A friend who helps out in the garden is an amazing friend. I feel lucky to have one, or maybe a few more if I count the ones whom I can occasionally trick into coming out to the garden and keep me company. However, unlike a child, garden can be left neglected for months, and do alright on its own. The laisse-faire façon of gardening suits me well, and here are the plants that sort of agree-
1. sunflowers
2. cucumbers
3. eggplants
4. squash
5. sesame and shiso
6. strawberries
7. most herbs
8. weeds.
Right now my garden is doing just- okay. The long awaited breeze of fall and the rain has left my garden infested with slugs, and with all the sunflowers wilted and finished, the flower patches are looking rather sad. But I think I have successfully paved the way for next year. Also, we have a plethora of shiso and sesame leaves, so please, let me know if you want to take some.
