So, you may have noticed that there were no gardening posts last year – or you may not have. Either way, this year will be different. Last year a thing called COVID happened to me just as spring and gardening time were upon me. I managed to squeeze in a few herbs by the time I was up and around, but overall I had no garden last year. I’m really hoping to make up for it this year by starting early and strong!

This is my cinder block raised bed. I planted Broccoli, Spinach, Kale, and Rutabaga from seed. We have a bit of a squirrel problem, so my husband and I constructed these covers out of PVC pipe and deer netting. They’re easily removed and work really well.
Below is a picture of another raised bed. You can’t see it real well in the picture, but it’s surrounded by a tall version of the cover above. Even this one, I can remove and put back myself because it’s so lightweight. In this bed I have; lettuce, carrots, spinach, and turnips. In a bit, there will be cucumbers at the end climbing up that trellis that you can see a little bit of. This picture was taken in the late afternoon/early evening. It gets full sun the rest of the day.

I’m adding a few fun, decorative touches this year as well. Like this trellis with our initial in it for the jasmine, and Mr. Rabbit standing guard.


I am not, by any means, an expert gardener. I mostly put things in the ground and see what happens. I do try to make sure that the things I plant together are good companions. I’m not afraid to try doing things a little differently from year-to-year.
For instance, the bed that Mr. Rabbit is in is usually reserved for herbs. I have some perennials in there that are working on coming back right now. This year, however, I got brave. I found the aforementioned jasmine and decided it would look lovely at the head of my herb garden. I researched companion plants for it, but didn’t find a lot of information, so I decided to give it a go.

Right next to the Jasmine, or pretty close anyway, I decided to place a Texas Bluebonnet that I found at the nursery. I tried planting these from seed once, but they didn’t take. They’re a wildflower that doesn’t really bloom for very long so I didn’t think it would hurt to put it in there. It seems fairly happy so far.

In addition to these beds, I also have some tubs that I’ve used for years and had wonderful success with. One of them got a new installation of peppermint and two others have Swiss chard, and shallots and onions. I’m reserving the fourth for tomatoes.

I am obsessed with chocolate mint. Yes, my friends, CHOCOLATE mint! And it’s as wonderful as it sounds. I have always had trouble finding it, but this year I found it at Home Depot online. Strange, I know, but my normal seed vendors didn’t have it. So, here it is in all it’s glory and I have three pots of it! I don’t grow mint in the ground because it is incredibly invasive and would take over the yard.

I haven’t even begun to mention all my potted plants on the deck; chocolate mint coleus (I told you I was obsessed with chocolate mint), holy basil, Jerusalem sage, purple fountain grass, cinnamon basil, columbine, purple basil (I’m a little obsessed with Basil as well), snapdragons, cosmos, and a creeping Jenny. I’ll post pics of those when they’re done recovering from winter, and when the seedlings are a little bigger.
I am really hoping for the best garden yet this year. Texas is really a great place for gardening because the growing season is so long. There are even crops that can be grown through winter and are even better once they’ve gone through a frost. I’m having fun no matter what and just like every other year, it’ll be an adventure and we’ll see what happens!
Happy growing! 👩🏻🌾