In the Beginning Was the Garden of Eatin'

It didn't rain last night, so today was the perfect day to figure out where to put the garden. I ended up settling on the far side of the pond-thingie--not only will the garden get lots of direct sun there, but the ground will also retain moisture pretty well since the creek is nearby. Plus I found the perfect spot near the garden plot for my compost bin. The fiance was out mowing the yard, so he took a few passes with the blade on the lowest setting to get as much of the grass off the plot as possible. You can see in the picture what he is calling "the putting green," which actually will become the garden tomorrow when we start tilling. (If you break out a magnifying glass or your reading glasses and look closely, you might even catch a glimpse of David--he's wearing a red shirt and is mowing behind and to the left of the white blossoming tree.)

I raked the "putting green" grass and threw it in the compost bin, so now I've started my compost pile. I've got lots of food scraps to add to it tomorrow that I've been saving up in my kitchen compost bin (a small green bin with a carbon filter to keep it from smelling up the house).

I am getting very excited: just raking up the soft, new-cut grass and breathing in its rich, verdant aroma set me on fire to get planting those vegetables!

I've also been eyeing the pond-thingie as a place to plant herbs. It seems to want some ground cover, and can envision multiple varieties of thyme, rosemary, cilantro, parsley, basil, oregano, and containers of mint brightening up the area. I can only imagine sitting on the patio, a cool dusk breeze playing through the trees and swaying the grasses, teasing us with a hint of mint and rosemary.

We have a lot of other landscaping chores to begin, but the garden is the most important. Tomorrow, it begins in earnest with the tilling.