I grew up with two grandmothers that each had beautiful - but different - gardens. My grandmother (Millie) in Ohio had a garden in her backyard that was a carefully sectioned plot made of railroad ties. It wasn't huge but she grew so many beautiful plants in neat rows. I remember visiting as a child and I would go with her to pull vegetables and weeds in the mornings before the sun was too hot. My grandfather would take me out in the afternoons and we would eat tomatoes like hand fruit with some sprinkled salt - something I still do to this day. Towards the end of summer my grandmother would spend a couple days in the kitchen to can tomatoes, beans, corn and more.
My grandmother in Greece still has a huge garden in an empty section of an olive grove near our village. It's wild, seemingly without much planning in mind, but she grows the best tomatoes you have ever tasted - probably the best vegetables, period. Everything is grown organically and the nutritious volcanic soil of Crete gives the produce a full, delicious flavor that - to my knowledge - can't be replicated anywhere else. I honestly cannot exaggerate how good everything is. When I'm visiting my husband we always leave saying, "We need to eat more greek village salads and fresh vegetables when we get home." Then we get home and feel let down.
This year has been the best year yet. I spend time almost every day puttering around in my garden - weeding, watering, fertilizing, trimming and doing battle with bugs that want to undo all my hard work. It's a great little stress reliever when Evie is napping. I am growing tomatoes, cucumbers, squash, arugula, strawberries, eggplant, three kinds of peppers, beans, carrots, onions, okra and a bunch of herbs. I'm excited to see all the baby fruit on my plants and I took a few pictures to share. :)
Eggplant Flower and Baby Eggplant
Tomatoes
Crookneck Squash
Okra
Cucumber
Pepper plant with my nemesis - aphids.
Tomato Plants
Beans
Strawberry Flowers
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