On fertile ground.

This picture was taken on our honeymoon, We were at the Jagiellonian Botaical Gardens . We have a similar plant in Texas that gets to be about a foot high (I'm sure it's not the same plant but it sure looks like it.). I felt like I was on the set of Jurassic Park.



We planted our little organic vegetable garden this past weekend. And, by little, I mean miniscule, and by vegetable I mean 3 different veggies, two herbs (one that came back from last year unaided...score!) for a total of... drumroll please... 6 small plants. And by organic, I mean, we leave it alone and hope that God takes care of the rest, can't get more organic than that! Wow. We are not impressive farmers.

Martin's mother comes from a family of farmers. You know, REAL farmers. The kind of farmers that can grow real crops to actually sustain a person's body, heck, even several people. With livestock and all the rest. They understand the seasons and know when to plant what and when to harvest what and what is good to plant this year, etc.

Yeah, not so much here in the suburbs of Austin. Although my kids have been know to escape their pin and roam into the street only to be returned by kind non-judgmental neighbors... those moments have that real down home farm feel about them .

I have dreams of having a real garden one day and actually being able to cultivate enough veggies to not require trips to the market, perhaps even an overabundance to share with the neighbors. Martin and I have even talked about using a piece of our property for a real greenhouse and trying a hand at growing things like Avocados. Yeah, that's right, Avocados. (ok, I just goolged Avocados and apparently they grow on tall trees... ok, so it will be a really tall green house... hush your naysaying, and of course I knew before hand that Avocados grow in trees, I just didn't know how tall they got).

Obviously this would require a big chunk of property and not a smart flat somewhere in the heart of the city. Trust me, we have entertained both ideas. How fun and exciting would it be to own a really old flat right downtown (or as nearby as our budget allows)? But no, I want the land. The land that is apparently so lush and fertile that you can literally just scatter seeds on the ground and anything will grow as if you you were an expert gardener.

This is what we want, so I know that one day it will happen. We're working towards it and will get there soon enough... until then I will have to be content with my little suburban garden of tomatoes, cucumber and eggplant, with a dash of mint and basil. Oh yeah, we also have Rosemary in our front yard classified as landscaping, but it works in a pinch. (dash..pinch... a real TASTE of literary genius right there...oh yeah.)

Happy Gardening! And enjoy these pics. of our quaint little growing space complete with HOA forbidden, makeshift, compost pile in the background...