Guy's Green Thumb

My husband has many talents - not the least of which is his ability to grow just about anything.  Like many of his talents, this is one I really don't share, but I sure do benefit from! Every year he turns our small yard into a meticulously tended thing of beauty and sustenance, managing to grow not only flowers, but a surprisingly large amount of fruit and veggies in a relatively small space.  Well, it's that time of the year again, and all of his hard work is beginning to pay off.

Let's start with the pretty stuff first.  One of the newest additions to our yard is the jasmine that he planted a few years ago on a trellis on our chimney.  It took a few years for this climber to fill in, but this year it has peaked - it is full and lush, pretty much covering our entire chimney.  Its beautiful white blossoms and dark green leaves are a delightful addition to the front of our house - but, the absolute best part is the sweet and lovely fragrance that bathes our entire front yard and envelopes you the minute you walk out of the front door.  What a great way to start and end our day!

In addition to all the pretty, blooming things (azaleas, roses, rhododendren, gardenia and jasmine - just to name a few) he has begun planting all sorts of tasty things as well - tomatos, cucumbers, peppers and herbs.  Even though our back yard is quite small and gets almost no sun, because of Guy's hard work and green thumb, we somehow manage to harvest bowls of veggies throughout the summer and really enjoy our version of "living off the land".  Along with the veggies in the back yard, he's planted some strawberries and blueberries in our small side yard - and, we're already enjoying the fruit of those labors.  While this first harvest hasn't been a large one, it's certainly been a sweet and colorful one. 

Not quite enough of berries to make strawberry shortcake yet - I can't wait for that.  Oh well - guess we'll just have to enjoy these lovely red treats "au natural" - one at a time, just the way they are, straight from the garden.  How sweet is that?