Growing Things

This is the first year I've really gardened. I didn't grow up loving the outdoors. Correction: I loved the outdoors, I just hated bees more. I'm not allergic, I'm just really, really afraid.

The timing just wasn't right for Kyle to do our garden this year, so I took over and went a little crazy with the flower packets. Now we have flowers for days!

Our garden is mostly zinnias with a few other (straw flowers, marigolds, morning glories, nasturtium that I've pretty much all pulled out because they go crazy, and a few other varieties I don't remember).

I also planted zucchini, cucumber, and a few pepper plants, but they're not really doing too well. Mainly because they don't get much sunlight as the flowers are taking over. I can't bring myself to thin out flowers.

We have lots of tomato plants that grew out of the compost I used. We tried hard last year to grow tomatoes, but we really just grew squirrel food. This year I'm not trying and we have a ton!

There are pickling cucumbers growing up our fence (some are turning out great, others are these round browish yucky things...any ideas?).

And see that giant green monster of a plant? It's pumpkins. Growing out of our compost pile. We have the small decorative type, and we just picked a huge jack-o-lantern kind, in July. What are we supposed to do with it in July?

I've come along way regarding the outdoors. I used to stop breathing and run inside if I could hear a bee. This past weekend, I was cutting flowers and Kyle was staring at me. He could hardly believe I was picking flowers while the bees were active. I accidentally cut one that had a big bumbler on it.

I am no longer willing to let my fear of the sting keep me inside. I want to pass on a love of nature to  my children, not my fear of bugs.

Since starting to overcome my fear, I've spent most weekends outside, napped on the grass, eaten frequent meals on the deck, grown some pretty spectacular flowers, and have gone to bed with dirt in my nails, the best kind of manicure if you ask me.