Everywhere we have lived since we got married, my husband and I have attempted some sort of garden. We have had flower gardens and vegetable gardens. We have tried various containers and planters when space was limited. We’ve gotten creative in our planting. We have not always been successful, but we have learned a TON along the way.

Our garden is one of my most favorite things. I look forward to it every year. For the last few years, we have planted on the side of our house. Each year we get a little more serious. For the last couple of years, my husband has dreamed out loud about turning our backyard into a corn field. Keep in mind, we live on just under an acre of land. This year… during a moment of quarantine stir craziness, he said… “I need a project.” We had some trees growing out of control in our backyard. I suggested he put his energy into cutting back the trees. As he did, we realized how much of our yard had been hiding under this mass of trees. As we began to reclaim the yard, we made the decision to move the garden to the back yard (the whole garden… not just a corn field). We almost doubled the size of what we have done in the past.

We spent time in April prepping the soil. We had various burn piles going to get rid of all the tree limbs from the tree project. We rented a tiller and my husband churned up the soil. He added lime and fertilizer. I drew a plan of what I hoped for with the garden, adding a few items we had not tried before. We planted the garden on Mother’s Day Weekend. If you live in Western North Carolina, they say not to do your planting until after Mother’s Day Weekend. I will heed that advice from now on! We thought the cold weather was over, but wouldn’t you know… there was a light frost for the couple of nights after we planted!!! Thankfully, nothing was ruined other than a few basil leaves. I think if we had waited even a few days, we would have given our garden a better start.

A wide shot angle of the garden. From left to right: Corn, Pumpkins, Carrots, Zucchini, Cucumber, Tomatoes, Spices, Bush Beans (green and purple), Sugar Smap Peas, Peppers, and Sunflowers. We have strawberries in the bottom right corner and Raspberries on the backside of the fence to the top left.

Either way… we are one month in and the magic of gardening is evident. I just love it! You start with soil and fertilizer. You put a tiny seed into the ground and within a few days, life shoots forth. I marvel at the amazing imagination of the Lord in how he created each seed so uniquely.

Fairy Garden put together by my 8 year old and 10 year old. You can get the bird bath HERE.
The fairy came with a fairy house set. You can find it HERE.
The fairy garden door can be found HERE.
I love Day Lillies. They are one of my favorite flowers. Here is the anticipation of the bloom that will burst forth in the coming days!
Corn. He didn’t plant an entire field, but definitely dedicated a large part of the garden to corn! We have been fighting with the birds to protect our baby corn plants. They like to pull out the plant and eat the seeds.
Zucchini. I haven’t had much luck with zucchini in the past. It is always taken over by powdery mildew. I am trying a new method of staking the zuchinni this year to get the leaves up off the ground and keep the plant more contained. If I get 2 zucchini out of these plants, it will be more success than I’ve had in the past!
I transplanted my strawberries from the front of my house to the garden in the backyard. They went into shock and I thought I had killed them all!! Thankfully, after about two weeks, they revived and started flowering!
Sugar Snap Peas. We have not planted these in the past! I am so excited!!
Carnival Carrots
Our pumpkin patch. We haven’t had pumpkins in a couple of years. The last time we did it, we only got one pumpkin!!! We planted sugar pumpkins. They are supposed to be good for pies and not vine out so much in the garden.
Tomatoes!
Bush beans. We planted green beans and purple beans this year. Beans are a great plant for feeling success in your garden! Bush beans are my favorite… no trellis required.
We have had rainy days around these parts!

Do you have a garden? What are your tried and true tips?

Do you have a favorite gardening book? I got this one from a friend last year and LOVE IT! I have dog- eared almost every page:

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