I’ll show you mine. Four.

Ok, so I had to do this one. You see, I've never really gone full-on gardening. Well, until the pandemic hit. I've been working from home since March and I've found myself with some free time and a backyard, and then the idea of gardening kind of took hold on me. Well, basically because I watch a lot of videos of people who have very nice gardens and I decided to give it a try. Also, because why not?

The fact that there was a huge swing set in the backyard, left by the previous owners of the house was really not conductive to thinking about gardening. It was one of those huge monstrosities that come with suburban life and two kids. But then one day, the swing set was gone and there was a huge space with... nothing. So then I decided to plant something. What? I had no idea (still don't) but I knew I wanted to plant something.

First, I moved around some hostas. Those plants are lush and resilient. My kind of plant. Then I planted some bulbs. Butterfly and bee bulbs, said on the envelope, and I thought that's what I needed. So I got to plant some of those bulbs all around and then sat down to wait. It took a minute, but now I have a bunch of little plants! What you are seeing is the first plants that bloomed: the long purple ones and the pretty, shorter, exotic ones. I'm thrilled. I've never had my own little garden. Let alone flowers. I also got a birdhouse (which is currently being occupied by a pair of very busy little birds) and a little bug hotel. 

I actually have several bug hotels. I had seen them in some neighborhoods in Chicago and I decided I needed one. They serve as refuge to butterflies and solitary bees and all kinds of little insects, necessary to keep healthy backyards. They attract pollinators to your garden and are cute! What's not to like?

Oh, I also have a bird feeder. The tricky little beasts have learned how to hang from it and open the compartment. So now I make sure I lock the little doors. It was a pain because big birds would latch onto the doors and they would swing open. And the squirrels and chipmunks were on the ground, ready to eat it all. Little fuckers.

I also planted a little apple tree. It's like six feet tall and it's looking very healthy.  I want apples next summer! It was on sale and I could not help buying it. Right now it has about eight or ten little apples and I'm exited about it. It may also look super cute when it grows. Another thing I discovered is that there were several nests around the house: under the stairs, on top of columns, on bricks in the facade. Some of them are currently empty but one has somebody living there! Totally exited about that too. 

Oh, there's a ton of flower plants growing right now, but there's also some 'useful' plants in the garden, too: peppers and tomatoes and one that I don't know what it is because I lost the little sticker that came with it and I'm waiting to see what pops up. I know, I should have photographed because I know some of you know your way around the garden and would have told me but alas, it's too late now.

So that's my post today. I think this is gonna keep me busy because just keeping the mulch free of weeds is a full-time job. Besides, most of the plants are very young (I started planting them basically in late May!) and some have yet to come out because they were bulbs and I'm not even sure if they'll come out before August. Or if they'll come up at all. I'm afraid I planted some upside down.

All in all, I'm enjoying it. Seeing the plants grow and flower has been thrilling! Of course I worry about a bunch of rabbits coming and eating them all, but I've also seen what seems to be a little fox roaming around, so I hope that scares them. And that's all for today. One day I hope I have a garden like John's (it's so cute!) but in the meantime, I'll just chill with my birdhouse and the bug hotels and the flowers that are about to pop.

XOXO