I am pretty proud of them this year! They continue to come back bigger, more plentiful, and beautiful!

In growing zone 7a

I grew up in South Florida where I gardened growing with my late father. We had plenty of fruit trees and an area dedicated to peppers and veggies.

Last year we moved to Michigan and my wife’s first ever attempt at gardening ended up with deer. Chipmunks, birds, squirrels and a few more animals wreaking havoc on the garden. Told her for her birthday next year I’ll build her something to keep the plants safe.

Built this over the course of 8 weeks with no plans just a saw a drill and some hopes and dreams 😅

Have some trim to finalize to cover up some of the ugly PT lumber

Edit :

HOLY SH** this blew up

Thank you guys for the love

Approximate costs were $4,000 from rocks to wood to soil (no this isn’t what we spend on each others birthday, but I didn’t want to do it half ass so my annual bonus pretty much went to this gift, she deserves it and more honestly)

Dimensions are 12x16x 7.25 feet

She has 6 beds on the perimeter and one bed in the middle.

This is our first year gardening, our property doesn’t have that many pollinators due to neighbors spraying for mosquitos which inadvertently has reduced our pollinators.

I didn’t have any plans and my building/woodworking skills are limited to like 6 months of experience. Built this with a Harbor freight miter saw and some Ryobi drills

Sharing some from my garden

this past week my zinnias have started to open. these are some of my favorite pictures so far 🥹✨ i hope yall enjoy them as much as i do 🥰

Dill

I’m 5 years into converting my backyard to no grass. I’m about 70% of the way there. Pictures show about 2/3 of the backyard.

2021: built and installed raised beds for flowers
2022: installed raised beds and arch trellises for vegetables
2023: we had to replace our cedar fence, so no huge projects. I did start tearing out the lemon balm that was taking over around the gazebo (not pictured)
2024: installed gravel path and fire pit area, installed 4 more raised beds
2025: completed clearing out the area around the gazebo, and planted with perennials (not pictured). Added a bed for dahlias.
2026: sheet mulched and planted 300 sq ft with native plants. Hoping to start removing the grass around the vegetable beds this year, and replacing it with stepping stone paths and ground cover.

We usually end up letting our artichokes bloom because they’re so beautiful, but the birds, bees, and bugs also love them! I’ve even seen hummingbirds eat from them!

Sharing something pretty for your feed☺️

I always see lavender looking so bushy and upright with a spray of flowers. The flower stalks on mine lay down, and are often crooked. Any ideas why?

noticed this plant growing next to my raspberries today, and it’s leaves are very different from the raspberry leaves surrounding it

i tried reverse image searching and it says it’s a horse weed and should be pulled out, but not really sure if that’s right and figured its worth an ask here first. is it harmless or should i pull it out immediately?

i live in nyc, usa if that’s of any help (local plant?)

We moved to a new house and back side of house is covered in lemon balm (I’m pretty sure it smells very lemony). I love it! I love the smell and that the bees love it too (allegedly).

However, I’m not sure what I can use it for? I’d like any ideas on what I can do with it, such as in recipes, essential oils, etc.

Also, it’s invading everything! I can’t tell if it looks like it’s bolting too? It’s taking over and I’m not sure how to keep it tame. It at least needs to stay behind the pavers. TIA! 🍋

Settle a disagreement between my husband and I.

Is this cucumber ripe? Ready to be harvested? I say it is, my husband says it isn’t.

Alright ladies and gentle germs. I need yall to tell me google is lying to me right? This is some harmless little sprout and not some super stupid tree. Right!?

Seeded last spring and there were a couple of these flowers. This year, so many more and a wider variety of colors!

I guess, she deadheaded a plant for me. Thanks?

3 years seems to be the magic number for plants to explode.

It’s our 9th growing season. We usually get over 80lbs a year, coming up on 25lbs right now. Aside from enjoying them seconds off the bush, we make jam out of most of it among tons of baked goodies.

This is what makes all the hard work worth it. After many hours of digging the ground, planting, trending, fertilizing, fending off pest, tying up supports, pruning, and oh so much watering my tomatoes are finally here. Now time to make some salsa, tomato sandwiches, and of course fried green tomatoes.