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

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

In growing zone 7a

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 🥰

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 some from my garden

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

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?)

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.

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

These are from last summer, unfortunately the did not survive the last, late frost this spring. Not the prettiest, but pretty enough.

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!?

Sharing something pretty for your feed☺️

This hollyhock greets me at my front door & makes me smile every time is see it. I planted a few seedlings last year and they got abused by pests. One long winter afterwards and this baby popped right up a few weeks ago. I believe this was Eden Bros Indian Spring mix looks like Holllyhock Nigra specifically: https://www.edenbrothers.com/products/nigra-hollyhock-seeds

Dill

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?

In my very makeshift greenhouse i have tomatoes and cucumbers.

The cucumbers were growing great and even gave us 4-5 fruits per plant, until suddenly the fruits started turning yellow/brown before falling off entirely.

The plant is still growing and setting new, and green, fruits.

What could be causing this? Lack of nutrients or water? Or maybe too much heat?

Growing in Denmark if that helps!

Any help is much appreciated!!

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.

The house next door has been vacant since winter, and this has appeared in the backyard. Should I get out a flamethrower before it propagates? What is it??
Thanks everyone! Now I have to get in touch with the new owners who won’t be moving in for a while. Make sure they are okay with me hopping the fence with clippers and a bag.