My Garden Details

 

I live in Zone 5b specifically in St Louis Park, Minnesota. We just changed into a Zone 5 category about 2 years ago. Thanks to climate change, our winters became a few degrees warmer (although in the middle of a cold snap in January/February it doesn't seem warmer when it's 25 below!). My yard is a small city lot. I have a mix of raised beds (those are non-edibles because we have a neighbor that uses chemicals, so I make sure we don't have edibles here) and in-ground beds. Mostly my flowers are in our front and my vegetable garden is in my backyard.

I tend to grow plants in what I call "seasons of my life." Sometimes my summers need to be extremely easy - so it's less veggies and more perennials or annual flowers that can take a little less love than I would normally give. Sometimes I have a lot more time and I can grow more plants that need a bit more work and attention. This past year was middle of the road.

I desperately try not to use chemical pesticides and herbicides. If I do, it's usually in my houseplants to kill fungus gnats or other prolific bugs that came in alongside my plants in the fall. I tend to use more biological controls. I weed several times weekly. I use straw mulch in my veggies and in my paths. I use a weedeater to grab weeds in my lawn and I do try to find the best grass and lawn seed available for my space and growing conditions.

My garden is my favorite spot and I try to enjoy it as often as I can. When we eat outside we call it "resort breakfast" or "resort lunch" or "resort dinner." Sometimes I forget to share these spaces, so I'll have to make a note to share more.

I grow a mixture of natives and hybrids and vegetables. There are some gardeners that are strictly native planters and that's totally cool. There are some people that only grow roses. That's cool too. I truly just grow what I love and what I think looks good in my yard. I don't discriminate and I certainly don't let plants hit the compost pile at stores - a lot come home with me and I am now finding it hard to make room for more. I'll be renovating two garden beds in my front yard over next year that became overgrown in the last few years.

I tuck in the colorful annuals into my shade plants. The fun pops of color make me so happy.

I purposefully grow annual flowers for bouquets for myself and to make for other people.

Every year I try to find new varieties of zinnias for myself. This one is lovely. When it comes to vegetables I stick to tried and true veggies that are eaten by my kids. Usually I end up with cucumbers, potatoes, tomatoes, peppers, acorn squash, pumpkins, and green beans. While I don't mind trying new things, sometimes my kids are disappointed that I didn't grow the usual. I have to accomodate 4 different tastes in my house along with a dog that helps himself to snap peas and green beans.