Master Gardener at Work

Gardening is one of those skills I've attempted off and on over the years, but it simply hasn't clicked with me. Yet here I am, trying a few things again. Earlier I shared the strawberry starts that a neighbor gave me. Here are my latest efforts.

I planted some sunflower seeds last week. They germinated. I transferred them to these small biodegradable pots yesterday. So far, they're all still alive and thriving. 

I realize I'm very late to the game. My neighbors sunflowers are already five feet tall! But I figure sunflowers are a late summer / fall flower. So they might show some color before the frost sets in. They're growing very fast.

Another neighbor gave me some decorative pumpkins last spring, left over from her garden the previous fall. She said, "All I do is throw them in the dirt spot in the back yard and they grow." So ... hmmm. They sat in a paper bag in my garage for 4 months.

Our back yard consists of a slab of concrete. No planting there! But now that we have a gate that connects our back yard to the common area, we can get to the dirt easily. A couple of our neighbors have large gardens in the common area behind their houses. Inspiring! Last week Dale and I built this humble little patch. I cut up the pumpkins, scraped out the seeds, and stuck them in the dirt. I didn't expect much.

But they started growing!

These are the baby-size pumpkins. And since they have until fall, we just might get some on time.

But you see, this is why I take photos of my neighbors gardens. I'm a much more competent photographer than gardener. 

I'm perfectly fine with that.