Life Lesson from James T.---Part 3

James grew up during the Depression when a garden was a necessity.  Throughout his life he had gardens big and small, but later in life, he experimented with compact, backyard-sized gardens.  He inspired us in so many ways, but I can't think of a more tangible, annually rewarding way than our desire bordering on need to have our own gardens.  There are so many sources for garden information from soil preparation to plant selection that I will not bother to list any specific ones.  Suffice to say, if you can picture it, you can probably grow it.  I will limit this post to what we are doing here in our Murfreesboro, Tennessee yard.  Hope the photos inspire some of you.

We dug this garden site up with a shovel after weed eating as much of the grass away as possible.  We love green beans and squash, so we always plant several rows of beans and 3-4 squash plants.  We picked both for most of the summer! 

We also like to have flowers mixed with our vegetables, and zinnias are a wonderful choice.  They are practically no care flowers, make excellent bouquets, produce all summer, attract birds, bees, and just look great!

We had our son, Aaron, build us two raised beds with blocks.  We use them for vegetables some years and other years as nurseries for transplanting flowers, like cone flowers which will spread dramatically!   Last year we had green beans in one and squash in the other.  The marigolds help repel some harmful insects.

We also use pots on our deck to have fresh herbs for cooking.  We've grown others, but rosemary, thyme, basil, oregano, parsley, and tarragon are our favorites.

We like to plant marigolds (we start them in trays from seeds), zinnias, and mums in a corner garden between a driveway and sidewalk.  The mums we find every year discarded by folks after Thanksgiving.  They just throw them away in our neighborhood, and we transplant them around our yard!

And, finally, if you have any room at all, try sunflowers.  We had a beautiful row of them along a fence, but our favorite was this one right off our deck.  It was covered all summer with insects, hummingbirds, and yellow finches.  

P.S.  I once asked James, who always wore a hat or cap, how you pick one that looks right.  His reply was to just wear one long enough, and it will.