Garden Love

Warning: This is a garden appreciation post! 

I sincerely have enjoyed Florida weather and I know everyone up north is feeling sad and cold but I hope that sharing this is the equivalent of sharing some of my warmth and sunshine!

One of the best experiences so far has been planting my little herb and veggie garden. I have kept plants, potted while we moved, since we first owned a house in Virginia Beach. And I truly love the ability to reach over in my kitchen or walk right outside and grab some mint or pick some tomatoes, knowing that they are clean and pesticide free. The food you grow yourself truly tastes the best!

So, when we got to Tampa, I was irrationally nervous that the hot Florida sun would just kill all of my plants... but so far that is not the case at all! I started with a lot of potted plants, and simple things like basil, mint, sage, tomatoes, rosemary, and oregano. Some were in my little wooden box (it used to sit on our front porch in Kansas and said GO NAVY!) and I had that on our new front steps, although it didn't go well alone. Still, the plants grew so large in that little box I knew I had to come up with another plan (you can see the basil withering in the hot sun on the right in the photo below, and my potted cherry tomato plant trying it's best...)

I knew that the front was a good spot, but we are planning some landscaping out back and in a dream scenario, I could pop out back for whatever I needed...but I was too worried my plants would not get the same sun and rain exposure they were used to up front, so I moved a few things around and stuck a little white planter bed that matches our fence in the front. It was on my Amazon wishlist and my mom sent it to me for Christmas, which was the perfect timing and the perfect gift. Sadly, my basil had gone through too much to re-plant well, but the rest of my plants have so far transitioned beautifully!

I know I need to trim some of them down and I'm working on it, especially that lavender we got from some random nursery in town- I've never seen it before so I don't know what I'm doing. The romaine I just ate a stalk of recently in a Greek salad I threw together and GOODNESS it was so yummy... and bonus, it definitely doesn't have e coli or anything yucky like the ones in store have had lately! 

My tomatoes went in my salad as well, and they have been fat and fresh and delicious!

 There are a few more ideas I have for the open squares in the front bed, plus I have a lovely citronella plant that I need to basically grow everywhere because the mosquitoes attack me the minute I step outside. For now, it's by the rocking bench on the porch where I sit close and often snag a leaf or two to rub all over my body. Yikes.  

I'm super open to tips and tricks of the gardening trade. Once our backyard transformation is complete, I'm going to have some more designated places to grown things (alongside my dwarf banana tree and orange tree!!! Can't get over that Florida sun).

Sending sun and sea breezes your way,

Big A⚓