How my garden grows!

I did some planting a couple of weeks ago, and I have to say that I am incredibly pleased with the results.

First, we have the plant I am most proud of: my tomato!


It's a patio container hybrid (I have named it Eloise. Yes, I name my plants. No, I don't know why), and it produces small cherry fruit. As you can sort of see, there's a little green tomato on the bush there, and hiding behind it is another, smaller one. There are flowers all over the top of the plant, so I'm expecting a nice crop of love apples this year.

Next, we have FTS's eggplant that she has named 'Bernado':
She said that choosing it was akin to adopting a child: you have to make sure you can provide the plant with the conditions it needs in thrive. This one needs a fair amount of sunlight, and our patio is the perfect place for that. It gets sun in the morning and late afternoon/evening, but is shaded when the sun is at it's harshest in the middle of the day. I don't know why FTS is growing an eggplant because she doesn't really care for them, but I'll eat them if she doesn't.

Here we have Enid the sweet pepper plant:
Yes, that's a soda bottle in her pot with her. It's my DIY drip irrigation system. You take an empty plastic bottle with a screw top on it (that's important) and poke a few holes in the bottom with a pin (I used a safety pin I heated with a lighter). Fill the bottle with water - yes, the water will run out the holes your poked in the bottom pretty swiftly at first, but when you screw the lid on it'll slow down to a drip. Dig a shallow hole in the soil next to your plant, and put the bottle hole side down in the dirt. Replace the dirt and voila! You've got yourself a drip irrigation system. I fill mine in the morning and sometimes in the evening too, depending on how hot it's been during the day.

Here we have Bizzy Lizzy the Impatiens:

They were just little green plants with no flowers or buds when I planted them in this hanging basket. As you can see, they're blooming now! I call them Bizzy Lizzy because that's what my dad always called them when I was a kid. They were one of his favorite flowers in plant in the yard.

Last but by no means least, we have my fuschia (I have another but it's not blooming yet. I'll post a photo of it when it's got a few flowers):


Flossie is a red and pink fuschia who is hanging from a shepherds crook in the back yard. The gub'mint doesn't like us to dig up the yard, so all of my plants are in containers - besides, I think that fuschias look better in hanging baskets. It gives them a chance to really show off their flowers. As you can see, Flossie has her own drip irrigation system too...and it's working well for her!

I have a family of swallows who have set up camp by the front door and are busily building a nest and dive bombing anyone who dares to use that entrance, so we're all coming in through the garage or the back door. Yeah, it's inconvienient for now, but seeing the birds build and eventually have babies right outside our living room? It's SO going to be worth it!