Gardening is harder than it looks

Why not start a new hobby?

Yesterday after lounging around for a while I remembered the small plot of over grown garden space behind my apartment and thought to myself, "hmmm, I bet I could plant some stuff in there." So I got up and went to check out my future garden. Not having any gardening experience besides the tomato plant my dad gave me at my last apartment I didn't really know what I was looking at. I found some random tools behind that house and figured that was enough to go on. So I hopped in Rambo and headed to Lowe's. Once there I had to pick what I wanted to grow. Since I had success with tomatoes I decided to get one of those and then I found a cantaloupe plant. Who doesn't love a good cantaloupe?! Then a couple flowers to add some color. One says it will attract butterflies so that obviously went into the cart and one cute little white flower. I grabbed a watering can, since there is no hose and the water spigot (well that's a weird word) did not produce any water. And I was off to the races. I also managed to snag a super fun little tree that also reminds me of my sister, Joanna. 

Once back in the garden I started ripping up all the weeds and overgrown vegetation. I soon realized that the dirt needed some help so I got to "plowing" (?) or basically hacking up dirt. Very quickly I worked up a sweat and came to the conclusion this was not going to be as easy as I had anticipated. I was pleased to find that there was (what I believe to be) good soil under the top layer. Once I started digging in the ground I found Mother Nature had previously planted a rock garden and it had flourished. I spent a good chuck of time finding and removing rock after rock, growing increasingly more frustrated every time my shovel hit another one. It was about that time that I noticed I was being eaten alive from mosquitoes, as if I don't get enough of that in the woods. I was covered in sweat and dirt and yet not shockingly, I loved it. I had reached a point where I believe the ground was as ready as it was going to be for the plants, so... I planted them. Not a whole lot else to say about that.

A few of my neighbors came by while this was happening and each were impressed with the progress I had made. I only finished a small portion of the garden but am hoping to have more of it done in time. Maybe then it can be used for its intended purpose. As for now, I feel very accomplished, very itchy from the stupid mosquitoes, and am very much looking forward to seeing how my plants do. I shall keep you all posted on how this new hobby goes. Any suggestions, tips, recommendations etc are welcome as always! 

Until next time, start or try something new and don't be afraid to play in the dirt! :)