City Life-Urban Garden Edition

Listen--I know most of those reading this right now are MUCH better at growing things than I. I tend to overwater what likes to live frugally, while neglecting those plants that want water above all things. But, recently I have been dreaming about surrounding myself with a fresh flower garden in the front of the house, and growing fragrant summer veggies in the back. Excuse me, i have to wipe the drool off of my keyboard...there. that's better. And not embarrassing at all.

Basically, I want to grow a vegetable garden in the back, so I can eat my weight in summer squash, while making at least 3 loaves of my grammy's zucchini onion bread so as to make sure to use up all of the latest crop. And in the front, i want to build a nice flower bed in front of the fence, while laying some beautiful ground cover down around the pavers I plan to lay between the main walk and where the garden hose is stored.

Of course, this plan is severely hampered by the following truths:

1. We have a huge magnolia tree hovering over our back patio, making it impossible to grow any vegetables that require sun. To my knowledge, that pretty much eliminates all of them. Unless there is a tasty fern that one of you can turn me on to.
2. I don't have the patience to grow anything that isn't labeled "idiot proof" at the garden center.
3. I really have no idea how to build a raised flower bed.

This last point is one that I plan to overcome. I have been inspired by my recent success from the porch i built (pictures coming soon), so I have convinced my self that a raised bed cannot be more difficult. Plus, it's hard not to covet when there are so many beautiful examples to be found online. Consider:

Or...Or...(My personal Fave)

So, my journey to turn our front yard into an actual garden begins with the building of a raised bed which will be safe from the rampaging WonderDog. Stay tuned--this project should be completed in a few weeks, and my pictures should be 100 times better than those above.

In the meantime, I think I'll go pickle. Got a great recipe from a great website called Smitten Kitchen. So excited to make these, although I have to put them in a locked, refrigerated safe when i'm done. I can't be trusted with pickles. The last time the Velogirl made freezer pickles, I pretty much strapped the Ziploc bag to my face like an old horse and inhaled them. I think I let her smell my breath afterwards, so she could imagine what they would have tasted like. I am not proud of m'self. At least know that much.