Garden Party

For my birthday this year, I decided to host a "Garden Party". I was eager to start my vegetable garden (since I couldn't do it before we left on our honeymoon), and wanted a low-key birthday after all that traveling, so I invited friends over to BBQ and help me garden (or watch me garden).

I have to give props to my friends, here: they were good sports about it, helping to break up the old soil and incorporate my fancy new soil, and helping me prep for planting!

I'm more in the mood for photos than long paragraphs today, soooo here ya go:

The Edible Schoolyard, where I purchased
all of my plants! Proceeds go to ESY, and
you should really, really go check out
their website. Amazing, really. 

CC, helping to incorporate new soil into
the old. It's a Garden Party! 

Emika, wielding my new garden multitool.
This tool is so rad. 

See? I didn't make EVERYONE work!
Some people enjoyed the "party" aspect
of  the Garden Party :) 

Mike was very helpful when it came to
lifting and dumping huge bags of soil.

When we moved the half wine barrels, we
uncovered some dirt (sorry, grass. you will
grow back, right?) and a couple of
SALAMANDERS!
(I found them kind of creepy, not gonna lie)

Is Claire Bear interested or freaked out? 

By the end of the Garden portion of the Party,
we had turned and incorporated the soil (plus
some compost), moved the half wine barrels,
and planted an Anise plant, surrounded by
California poppies (see frontmost barrel)
The lemon tree is kind of going nuts lately;
I'm going to have to re-stake it!

Beautiful, beautiful fresh soil! Ready to plant! 

Carolyn admiring my plant bounty - so
many new friends!

Cake break! I have an awesome husband,
who got me TWO cakes from La Farine. 

Will and Rachel play Kinect JoyRide. Super fun.
Not as fun as Just Dance 3, which we played after.
DANCE PARTY!

Today was the day for the main Gardening Event...le planting! Since the soil had been prepped so well yesterday (thanks, guys!), it didn't take long to get started. Let's see how it went, shall we?

I placed the plants roughly where I wanted them to go.
Clearly I have no idea what I'm doing.

But after planting...it kind of looks like a garden, right?
Clockwise from far right (just below that white pipe in
the top corner): sunflowers (2 types), peppers, kale (you can
kind of see it in the shade), crookneck squash, tomatoes,
a marigold (supposedly to protect the tomatoes from pests)
beans (along the fence), strawberries, and spinach (in a little
circle above the peppers)
More detailed pictures at some point, I promise.

The other side of the vegetable patch: the kale, rainbow
chard, lemon cucumber, zucchini, parsley, tomatoes,
basil, and sweet peas.
I realize it's hard to tell what's what - the lighting had
gotten weird by this point.

And just for fun, some rosemary and extra basil in the
flower bed :)

And one last flower, something called
either a Bachelor Button or a Blue Boy.
Supposedly it attracts pollinators, so...good!

We had fun planting the veggies and such today - our first real garden together :) Will was pretty into it too, so hopefully between the two of us, we can keep some of these plants alive! I don't have the best track record with growing vegetables, but everyone deserves a second chance, right?

I'm already thinking about looking into various snail deterrents - I think we have snails aplenty and I don't want them eating my vegs! Also: yes, I will be caging the tomatoes when they get a little larger. Also: will probably have to tie tinsel to some of the plants to ward off squirrels. 

Wish us luck...and give us advice! (but please, only advice we can take...no "you planted everything wrong" notes, please! I don't think I can take it!)