{a little patio garden}

It's basically summer here in Dallas already. Or rather, the current temperatures (80's F) are what summer feels like in normal places. Spring in Texas = summer everywhere else. Summer in Texas = hell on earth.

So while the temperatures are still below 100 F, I decided to plant a little patio garden this weekend.

It all started when Thomas's mom sent me these cute little containers and some flower seeds...

[ Thanks! :) ]

And that just got me started... I went to Lowe's and picked up some more containers, potting mix, garden lime, and some plants.

I was going to just buy seeds and grow them from scratch... but apparently that's hard to do unless you have a green thumb. [Which I don't know if I have. I guess I'll find out.]. Also, it's a little late in the year to start from seeds. So mostly, I bought little seedlings of the plants I wanted to grow.

The large brown container in the back of the above picture is a "city pickers" vegetable growing kit. 

It has a water reservoir in the bottom, then an aeration screen, on top of which the soil goes.

And it has wheels so you can roll it around to wherever the sun is. Genius.

So we filled it up halfway with soil...

Added some garden lime to neutralize the soil pH...

It was getting dark as we did this, hence the flash in the next picture.

After filling it to the top with soil, we put the mulch cover on... it prevents the soil from going dry from evaporation.

The next day, I planted some of the seedlings in the city picker... [you cut holes in the mulch cover and sink the seedlings into the soil.]

The little spout in the corner is how you fill the water reservoir... the water then wicks up into the soil.

I think it's quite clever.

Left to right, in a semicircle: two jalapeno pepper plants, two tomato plants, two cucumber plants, and one yellow bell pepper plant.

I'm going to put a couple more vegetable plants around the outside and maybe some herbs in the center. I also need to leave space to put in wooden stakes for the plants to climb up on as they get bigger.

Some extra jalapeno pepper and cucumber seedlings that I'm trying to decide where to put...

I planted herbs in these window boxes

Thyme, thai basil, and sweet basil. [I left a space for more sweet basil].

Greek oregano, tarragon, and rosemary.

I also planted some herb & vegetable seeds in these little containers to start off. When the seedlings are big enough I'll transplant them to window boxes or the city picker. Then I'll plant pretty flowers in the containers :)

Left to right: cilantro, spring onions, green beans, chives.

I really have no clue about gardening. I did some research on the plants that I got, but we'll see how it all turns out. I'm kind of afraid that the hellish heat during the summer will just kill them all off!

I just wanted to try growing some of my own vegetables and herbs...

Workin' in my [little tiny] garden :)

Grow, little plants, grow!