Growing a garden is a practical thing to do, as it gives us the chance to grow some of our own food and control how we grow it, too. But another benefit of a garden is simply the beauty of a backyard bounty, whether it’s something edible, or just something pleasing to the senses.
Today I wanted to simply share a bit of garden inspiration I’ve come across lately.
Photo courtesy of Sunset Magazine
Photo courtesy of Martha Stewart Magazine
Photo courtesy of ReadyMade Mag
Photo by Ginny | Small Things
Photo by Ginny | Small Things
Photo by Eren | ThisVintageChica
Let’s hear your plans!
Even though many people garden year-round, it seems like it’s that time of year when we really start getting the itch to get out and dig. I’ve got magazine pages torn out or dog-eared, waiting to be put in my garden inspiration binder.
From double-dug, to raised beds, to containers, it seems like the possibilities are endless for creating the perfect home garden. With a move coming up and baby due in early summer, most of my gardening will be confined to my dreams this year, but I am hoping to get my daughter, who’s almost four, more involved in the few things we do plant.
Here at Simple Organic, we’ve got some great information on the horizon, and also some really helpful resources in our archives on gardening, including the beginner series, Gardening 101, where you can read about some of the basics of gardening.
Are you getting ready to plant a garden? I’d love to hear in the comments what you are planning to grow this season.
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Although the ground here is still covered in snow, I have had the seed catalogues out and have been dreaming about warmer weather! I love our raised beds! We put gravel in between ours to keep the weeds down and people often comment that our backyard looks like a park! (There are some beautifully gardened parks around here so I take that as a compliment considering herbs and veggies make up most of what we grow.) As for what we are growing – 3 kinds of tomatoes (mystery keepers are a must for us! With a short growing season I love having fresh tomatoes all winter long!), cucumbers, onions, potatoes, peas, beans, squash, zuchinni, several types of lettuce, spinach, kale, swiss chard, orange and purple carrots, parsnip, red and yellow beets, strawberries, and a huge variety of herbs. Our secret for growing so much at less cost is to seed share with family. That way we both get to grow a wider variety of vegetables without seed going to waste.
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Seed sharing is a great idea!
My nine year old and I have decided we want to try to grow a tomato in every color that we can. I’m hoping to try more types of lettuce and herbs this year, too.
We have a small backyard raised bed garden and we use the square foot gardening method.
Looking forward to hearing more on this topic!
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I can’t wait! I’m planning on tomatoes, peppers and cucumbers (new to me). I’ve even ordered a book on gardening through amazon, which I’ve previously checked out from the library, to help me on my journey. I’m feeling really positive that I can keep my plants alive this year.
Thank you for the inspiration. I finally brought out my bag of seed and seed catalogs this week. I know I need to get started but its hard to get my mind there when all I can see out my window is white snow. Those pictures definitely helped!
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Finally finished planting my first garden yesterday! I made my own raised bed (4x4x2), picked up a truck load of organic dirt, and picked out several veges and herbs to plant. My 3 year old and me picked: celery, red bell, green bell, 2 types of tomatoes, zucchini, yellow squash, cucumbers, strawberries, romaine lettuce, chives, cilantro, and parsley. I think it’s an ambitious first garden but we had a blast doing it together. And I loved teaching my 3 year old all about it! So now we wait…
It’s so fun getting little ones involved in gardening!
Love those photos! My son looked at our calendar last night and said: “Mom why does it say ‘cold crops in’ on the 15th?” Last year a woman we know had told us to get our spinach, lettuces and onions planted by the 15th of March. I don’t think that is going to happen, but this inspiration is just what I needd to at least get some seeds going!!
I am ITCHING to start my garden. I have scallions and a few flowers started inside right now, and I’m getting ready to start cabbage and lettuce and spinach. This is my first year planning a garden, and I’m very excited/nervous. I garden at the Bloomsburg Community Garden in Bloomsburg, PA.
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Community gardens seem like such a cool way to go!
Love the inspiration, here’s one of my favorites: http://brookegiannetti.typepad.com/velvet_and_linen/2010/07/kitchen-garden-update2.html
oh wow! I love how she has the outside of the boxes lined with more plants.
Oh golly. I’m looking forward to carrots, lettuce & beans. But I’m also dreaming of flowers. I am currently obsessed with delphiniums!
These pictures are so pretty!
Wow, these pictures are so inspiring! I wish I had the yard for a “real” garden – this year, I’m trying my hand at growing tomatoes, basil, and cucumbers in containers on my front porch, as that’s the only spot that gets enough sunshine to grow things. I’ve managed to kill most of the plants I’ve tried in the past (mostly due to neglect – got to get better about that), but so far this year’s seedlings seem relatively happy. Wish me luck!
This morning it was -37 degrees Celsius (-35 degrees Fahrenheit) when I left the house at 7 AM. We have at least a couple of feet of snow covering the ground. Spring is a very, very long way away. I live in northern Alberta, close to the 60th parallel. Last year my garden was planted June 12th and our radishes still bolted. We have almost 24 hours of daylight during the summer.
This year I am planning on growing peas, carrots, lettuce, potatoes, swiss chard, raspberries, tomatoes, zucchini, chives, green, yellow & purple beans. We built our raised garden beside our dugout so we never have to worry about not being able to water it. A lot of people up here plant gardens and don’t water them, I don’t see the point myself. Last year we had no problems with wildlife eating our garden either, maybe our dogs keep the deer away.
We have also ordered chickens and turkeys to raise, they get all the weeds from the garden. As well we are going to try to raise pigs this summer. We have been contemplating getting a milk cow too.
Gardening this far north certainly presents some challenges but I find it very rewarding.
wow! What a different gardening experience you will have from me. Thanks for sharing!
I’ve started some plants in pots and some are ready to transfer! Still working on our actual garden though. Still need to get rocks out, till the soil and add better soil to it. This year I’m hoping for collard greens, spinach, cerrano peppers, long peppers, bell peppers, (we like peppers), eggplant, carrot, onion, basil, cilantro, tomatoes, okra, and strawberries.
I am building at least 2 more 4′x6′ raised beds this year. I will be planting the following. Mostly Heirloom & Open Pollinated varieties.
Asparagus
Basil
Broccoli
Butternut Squash
Cabbage
Calendula
Carrots
Cilantro
Collard Greens
Cosmos
Cucumbers
Green Beans
Ground Cherry
Hot Peppers
Kiwi
Lavender
Lemon Balm
Lettuce
Onions (for comp. plant)
Peas
Poppy
Potatoes
Spinach
Strawberries
Sugar Peas
Summer Squash
Sweet Peppers
Swiss Chard
Tomatillo
Tomatoes
Tomatoes
Tomatoes
Zucchini
I love gardening, and I am getting excited about planting. This year I have the kitchen garden usuals ~ tomatoes, peppers (green, red, banana), cucumbers, squash. This year I am adding spinach, beets and pumpkin to the mix. Should be fun!
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I’ve been thinking about what to plant in our two raised vegetable beds this year; the planning and planting part is always so exciting, but I seem to fail at the tending-to-harvest part of it all. So I’m wondering if I might grow a cutting garden there this year instead. But to have real backyard tomatoes in August…oh, what to do! Well, this post and the comments are giving me more inspiration, so thank you!
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I love to dig and I also love building retaining walls, so gardening is perfect for me. I’m installing a 75 foot long retaining walls at my friend’s house right now, and when it’s done, we’re going to plant some fruit trees and great garden plants. There’s nothing like growing your own food and planning a productive garden.
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