Blind Photos of the Garden

The garden looked so pretty this morning that I desperately wanted to share some pictures of it. But since the LCD on my camera broke, I had no idea how the photos were going to turn out. Kind of like back in the day when cameras had film instead of being digital. :) To tell you the truth, it's kind of fun.

My mother likes to tell stories of her father, who had a magnificent garden back in New Hampshire where she grew up. She always complained about having a black thumb, but now that she's retired, she's killing plants less frequently. I think gardening has a lot to do with time and patience.

Since I live out in the desert, when I had our yard landscaped, I didn't include grass. It takes a lot of water here to keep it green since it doesn't rain very often, and I don't like how grass monopolizes time on the weekends with cutting and trimming and fertilizing. Perhaps when I have children who want to play in grass I'll feel differently. Instead I used a pebble screening. It's smooth enough to walk on barefoot, and keeps the dust down.

Along the back wall I planted wildflowers. Most of the pink ones are Cosmos, which did really well last year, and reseeded themselves. I also have Mexican Hat, Poppies, and some baby's breath, and Blanket Flower. They attract bees and butterflies, and do well in the desert sun.

Along the very back of the wall, which is about six feet tall, I planted sunflowers. They seem to grow about 4 inches a day. :) I can't wait until they bloom. I'm always attracted to these beauties when driving by other people's yards, and they add some height to the garden since the trees aren't big yet.

Last year, I managed to get some gorgeous bougainvillea growing around each of the posts of the patio, but they haven't really survived the winter. I thought they were completely gone, and that I'd have to replant, but last week this happened:

It's surviving! I'm so happy!

Here's a little trumpet vine. I'm not sure what the name of it is, but I believe it's in the morning glory family.

 And here's the herb garden. It gets full sun in the afternoon, and is doing really well, after some hard work last year. Most everything survived the winter. I only had to replant the vegetables and the basil.

 I know this one is out of focus, but I wouldn't have been able to get this effect if I tried. :) These are chives in bloom.

 And here are my 3 sweet basil plants. There's going to be a culinary experiment tonight using these. Look for the blog post!

 From back to front, Sage, Purple sage, Texas Tarragon, and Thyme. I'm not sure which variety since I planted 3 and forgot to label them. :)

And here are the veg. A gigantic tomato plant in the back, 2 green peppers, and a jalapeno. My mom likes to use the peppers and jalapeno to make jelly. It's amazing, and I'm going to have her teach me how this year. I'll share it with you.

Oh! And last but not least, my favorite way to cook in the summer...