Blogging. Who'd have thunk it?

Recently my hunny and I have been making a bit of light fun of blogs. As we are approaching our wedding date, we keep telling people to 'check it out on our wedding blog.' Both of us have only learned the word 'blog' within the last six months. So here I am, with my tail ever-so-slightly tucked between my legs, writing my first-ever blog entry.

Now that I've been presumptuous enough to think you're interested in what I've got to say, I guess I should get at it. This blog will mostly journal my gardening exploits, with a bit of wedding nonsense tucked in here and there, since these days they are but two parts of the same crazy whirlwind.

Our wedding has taken on a decidedly horticultural aspect, as everything from the invitations to the decorations involve something grown in our yard (or purchased at Giant Tiger ha ha). I am insane and have decided to grow my own bouquets and boutonnieres. I have managed to convince my mother and grandmother that they don't want corsages ("Nah, you don't want those. They'll wreck your outfits."), and I only have one attendant, so I think I'm doing ok.

The garden suffered last summer, as I was trying to settle into a busy new job, and I had surprise abdominal surgery which put me out of commission for about 2 weeks. My tomatoes went to the slugs, and the only squash I grew was something I did not recognize, so I harvested them and let them sit on my counter for six months, moving them every time I cleaned, until I decided that they'd be no good to eat and threw them out. I think they were something called a 'Baked Potato Squash,' the seeds of which my aunt gave me in a white paper envelope. No wonder I didn't recognize them. I was expecting zucchini.

And I am convinced that the bears ate my cherry tomatoes. If that's true, they were at least delicate about it, crushing neither the plant nor the plants around it. I like to picture them opening my garden gate and hunkering down beside my tiny little cherry tomato plant and picking the itty-bitty tomatoes one by one off with their big claws. They dropped a few ("Oops! Don't eat that Cyril! It's got dirt on it!") but pretty much left everything intact except for the tomatoes they ate. Or maybe I just had a low yield.

This year, I've got high hopes. I'm growing the following glorious, nutritious, beautiful, delicious and virtuous vegetables and herbs:
- yellow pear tomatoes
- Roma tomatoes (thanks Amy!)
- little wee eggplants and one 'Dusky' eggplant
- Royal Burgundy beans
- red peppers
- cayenne peppers
- pumpkins (one plant, which I crushed a bit while transplanting)
- zucchini (I hope)
- ground cherries
- cucumbers
- okra
- spinach
- bunching onions
- chives
- artichokes (these are in the perennial garden)
- scarlett runner beans (against the deck)
- lemongrass
- italian basil
- thai basil
- globe basil
- lemon basil
- parsley
- tarragon
- dill
- fennel
- thyme
- radishes
- carrots
- rhubarb
- and the ubiquitous mint

And that's only the veggie garden! I put them all in on the weekend. I think they're ok, though I could see burn spots on the tomatoes, and today is very sunny. I keep them well-watered so hopefully they'll survive. My garden is 15 x 20 feet, so if that sounds like a lot of stuff, remember that I have but one small example of many of them, and the garden is pretty roomy. I've also planted nigella, stocks and sunflower seeds in there, so we'll see.

I think I'll tell stories about the perennial gardens another day.

...and by the way, our colour scheme is lime green and off-white, we're registered at the Bay, and I'll need all of your RSVPs by July 8th. hardy har har.