When we got married and moved into our first apartment, I was so anxious and excited to start my own plants, to create mon petit jardin. I have had opportunities in the past to grow things, but this was the first time that I would be fully responsible for my little plants; mother is not here to water or weed when I forget.
I started simply:
- pots and dirt from my mother
- free packet of wildflower seeds from a Burt’s Bees promotion
- morning glory seeds from our wedding favors
- tin buckets from our wedding decorations
- my garden “catuary”/”gnome” Stella; if I can’t have a real cat now, I at least have my garden cat statue named Stella
After I gathered my materials, I donned my trusty, all-purpose, gardening gloves (which have been used for anything and everything except gardening thus far), and set to work making a dirt-y mess on our apartment balcony. My husband wisely left me to my devices, to make my own organic endeavors while he did some intelligent computer thing. After one cycle of my favorite country music mix, the seeds had been planted, the trellis was set and ready for little glory vines to climb, and Stella was proudly perched next to the mysterious wildflowers and the fragrant basil, watching over my little plantlings.
The morning glories were the first to sprout, quickly shedding their seed shells and are now climbing and winding vigorously all over the trellis, the balcony railing, and sometimes the other plants. We have yet to see them bloom, but I still have hope. The wildflowers are still a mystery…my husband says they look like weeds, and as they still have no blooms and I have no wildflower knowledge, I reluctantly allow that comment. The basil and sage that I have now added are healthy and fragrant; I use them often in my cooking, which is wonderful! (I also recently read an article that mentions basil’s wonderful stress-relieving characteristics…no wonder I love to cook with it!) Also, a friend gave me some mint from her flourishing garden variety, which nicely perfumes our balcony and flavors my tea.
My favorite part of t
he “garden” right now is my tomato corner. I have two tomato plants growing, one USDA organic-certified and the other commercially grown. Secretly, I want to find out which plant fares better and make my organic vs. non-organic argument to my husband then. Granted, I gave the organic plant an unfair advantage with a bigger pot and more dirt, so I guess I’ve already thrown the results. Anywho, both plants are doing fairly well, although our Indiana weather has failed us a bit for the tomatoes…word on the street is that tomatoes need the constant hot, humid weather that our fine state usually provides. On the organic plant, I currently have two actual tomatoes growing, and eight or more yellow buds holding the promise of more tomatoes! I am ridiculously excited each time I see growth on any of my plants!
While I cannot fairly say that I have grown a green thumb, I believe I am on my way. With the space, resources, and experience I have, I’d say I have achieved relative success. I had hoped for a larger variety of herbs to grown, but for now, I am content to wait with anticipation as mon petit potager du tomate et basilic grows into something that can deliciously adorn a toasty turkey sandwich.
Update: the morning glories bloomed!: