Totally Worth a Sunburn

"Once the deck is done..." has been the intro to many conversations in the last few years. I have a zillion and one plans for our yard "once the deck is done."

A vegetable garden has been the one consistent plan I've mentioned over and over again. While visiting my parents last week I admired the new garden dad and Neve planted together, admired and complained about not having my own. I'm sure this was the 13 billionth time my dad has heard talk of my future garden, he stopped me in the midst of my whining and asked why I was waiting for the deck to be done, why didn't I just go ahead and plant the garden. My concern was where to put it, what if I dug up the grass and then decided "once the deck was done" that I had dug in the wrong place. My dad, being the kind man he is, managed to not roll his eyes at me when he suggested that if that ends up being the case we could simply purchase a few strips of sod to cover the bare spot. Duh, why didn't I think of that?

A brilliantly simple solution like the one suggested by my dad was all I needed to hear. Saturday I hit the garden centre, chatted with the pros, dug up a little plot in our yard - my father warned Mike today that it's "the perfect size to hide a husband" when he came by to check out the finished product - edged it, filled it with the recommended fertilizing soil and compost and sat back to admire my work. Yesterday I earned a hideous sunburn while planting and arranging bird fencing to keep out the rabbits. A pina colada was the celebratory drink when I finally made it to this point:

Of course our home isn't our home without a bit of WHAT THE? so the garden needed a little bit of strange to spice it up. Hence the handsome devil sitting in the middle of the plants.

I dug out the head that has been hiding in the garage for the last four years and stuck it in the middle, we've named him Jeremy (I do have a cousin named Jeremy but the head has no relation to him besides belonging to me). I made him (the head, not my cousin) a few years ago alongside my student when a fabulous art teacher offered to teach her to sculpt during her spare. Please do not judge the teacher's fabulousness based on my sculpting ability (or lack of). He's a wee bit creepy so maybe he'll act as a scarecrow. Don't worry, he has no teeth so he can't eat the veggies.

It's just a tiny garden but it's a start and I'm thrilled with it.

I'll be keeping track of what works and what doesn't here, so yes you can point and laugh or if you're not interested in my veggie tales (veggie tales... get it? insert laugh track here) feel free to skip any posts that you see labeled Jeremy.

I know you're all on the edge of your seats waiting for the big reveal.... I'm growing (or trying to grow) tomatoes, red peppers, green peppers, jalapeno peppers, lettuce and peas.

Our yard has been unbelievably bare up until this point. Now it's beginning to feel cozy and inviting.

Mike and I ooohed and ahhed over it last night after we rearranged things. It might not look like much but it looks a zillion times better than it did last year. After work today I sprawled out on that swing with a pillow and a book for an hour and a half. Bliss!