Life Began in a Garden - My Own Garden

My new "home" had a blank slate for a yard :-(  The only things planted by the former owner were 2 aging and neglected rosebushes along the back fence and an "eye-brow" garden bed (that's my name for the flower bed mounded up in the  corner of the yard) with a few pathetic looking plants reaching for sunlight.

But there's an old saying "bloom where you're planted" and after living here for almost a year - it was time to start "blooming".

Texas A&M University has a GREAT school-wide community service project called "The Big Event". Every year, local people can sign up to have students come to help with projects around your home. I signed up and on a Saturday in March, 6 students came and helped me build a raised vegetable garden bed made of cinder blocks.

My brother and sis-in-law graciously helped with loading and unloading the blocks and
my son helped cart some of the dirt to the backyard to make my other flower beds.
Now I just have to get some veggies planted in there!

.... Almost a month later, I finally have some real growth in the garden. Kentucky Wonder pole beans have grabbed onto the jute hanging on my make-do trellis and the cucumbers are looking for a place to climb. I'll work on a trellis or tepee for them next.

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May 1st - things are growing!! Well, some things are growing .. here are some of the latest pictures. As you might be able to tell - I'm better at doing "crafty things" that look cute, than I am at making plants produce veggies! But - it does look cute :-)

My friend, Mary found me a patch of bamboo and I made some trellis teepees for my squash to grow up. Of course, these will be a perfect spot to add some glass totems to go along with the theme I seem to have going :-)

Unfortunatly, my tomatoes are slowly losing leaves and only 1 in 4 squash plants are looking healthy. But I do have flowers on my cucumber plant and even one on the okra!! 

And the best part of all is that for supper I went out and snipped some fresh basil and oregano and added it to my spaghetti dinner!! Woo Hoo! I couldn't have been more excited - that is, until I get to eat my 1st real veggie from this garden!

Anyone else growing a garden this summer? What do you have growing in yours? Any suggestions for a newbie?