It's Not Easy Being Green

I may have mentioned before that I am not a gardener. Oh, don’t get me wrong. I totally love and reap the benefits of our garden every single day – but actually doing the deed is clearly not my favorite summer time activity. I am much more suited for sipping a pina colada by the pool. Yes, now we are talking.

However, with PG out of town, I am being held responsible for the upkeep of our garden.

Augh.

To further elaborate on the love/hate relationship I have with my garden, some photos.

The Love

Our Basil.

I LOVE our basil. LOVE LOVE LOVE it. Especially when paired with some fresh mozzarella, some tomatoes, a little EVOO, and salt and pepper. SO Good, and one of my favorite flavors of summer. Mmmmm . . .

Our Tomatoes.

We have a lovely bunch coming in right now. Although they haven’t turned red yet, thoughts of them meeting Mr. Basil in a great big bowl make me . . . HAPPY. Or just slicing them up and eating them on their own. Oh, the joy.

Our Cucumbers.

An equally delightful treat on its own. Or lovely when sliced and matched with a tomato and little feta cheese. Throw in some thin slices of onion, olive oil and S&P, and can I have an OPA!!! So good.

Our Beets.

Our very first attempt at growing them is turning out to be quite fruitful. A lovely addition to the summer goodies - I can’t wait to roast them up (350° temp for 30 minutes with a little S&P and EVOO drizzled on top. SO amazingly simple and GOOD!) Oh, and I know this doesn’t look like the most organized manner of planting – and yes there are some weeds in this picture – but I told you PG was out of town. We’re lucky I’m keeping up with the watering!

Our Sunflowers.

Sure to brighten anyone’s cranky mood. Happy yellow sunflowers. LOVE LOVE LOVE them.

The Hate

Japanese Beetles.

HATE them. And how dare they go after my sunflowers! You big meanies!!! Don’t know how it happens, but they must REALLY love me. Every time I come inside after watering the garden, there is always one attached to me somewhere. I even do a little shake before coming inside (oh, yeah, the neighbors love me!) But still . . . here’s the beetle! I mean – John, Paul, George and Ringo are fine. But, Japanese . . . no thanks!

Flies and Bees.

HATE. Yep, they are right up there with the beetle. NOT my friends. I know, those little bees have purpose. I just would rather they take a break and go elsewhere when they see me coming. And the flies – augh! I say we put a fly, bee and beetle in a jar and let them go at it! I have no clue who would come out on top. Wait - that sounds like the start of a good joke – “A bee, a fly and a beetle walk into a bar . . .” I’ll have to work on that a little more for you. ;)

My Toes in the Garden.

Seriously. These little tootsies have NO BUSINESS being out there in the garden. I mean, I know I could wear socks and shoes. But, how would I show off my big toe art work if I had to cover them up? (Lovely, isn’t it?) Yes, my toes are not enjoying the gardening this week. This is going to call for a sea-salt pedicure when PG returns!

So, that is just a little bit of my gardening thoughts – the good, the bad, and the ugly (sorry for the foot picture. I wouldn’t usually post my toes – but it seemed necessary.) How about you? Do you garden? Are you a fan or foe? What are you growing this season? I’d love to know. . .