My honey shared my Da's garden this year.  Between the two of them they grew 3 kinds of tomatoes, cucumbers, 2 kinds of bell peppers, squash, watermelon, 3 kinds of chili peppers, Indian corn (for decoration) and a small selection of herbs.  My contribution was the flowers to entice the pollinating insects and birds.  It was a wonderful experience!  I'll let the photographs speak for themselves!

So Michael has decided to try the garden!  I'm feeling good about it!  My contribution has been lots of seeds - mostly flower seeds - mostly to feed the honey bees (and other pollinating insects) but also to look pretty.  Experts say that having lots of honey bees around your garden pollinating the veggie plants means you get bigger fruits & veggies! I'll report back on that at the end of the season!  

Because he likes hot food, I got him a selection of pepper seeds from Sandia Seed Company located in New Mexico! 

When we lived in New Mexico, we both developed a taste for good chiles/chile sauces - not the kind most prevalent on the east coast that are vinegar-based products but delicious chiles with fantastic flavor you can enjoy at varying levels of heat.  Most people think that red chile sauces are all hot and green are all mild but that isn't in the case.  I learned in NM that color doesn't matter and heat varies from batch to batch, so if you are ordering food with chile sauce and you want to be sure to get some hot, you better order 'christmas' (think red AND green).   

So Michael started the seeds in those little starter pots - not just the peppers, but some tomatoes and zucchini, too.  I hope to pick up some herbs from a nursery close to Windy Knolls - I'm thinking basil and oregano (since they seem to be Mike's favorites) and parsley;  Mike mentioned mint, too.  I'd really like to try growing rue, which isn't common at nurseries, but I'm pretty sure I can find starter plants on the internet.

It isn't a whole lot, but its a great place to start!  It will feel good to play in the dirt this summer - I just have to remember my sun block!