Natalie’s Hobbies, part 4

Hello everyone,

Today I am continuing my mini series on my hobbies. I love to garden! As you know if you’ve read many of my earlier posts, gardening is one of my favorite things to do in the spring and summer. This year's weather has brought this hobby into fall as well! I can’t believe I’m still getting produce from our garden areas, but it is bringing me so much joy. We have two main gardens in our yard—the raised beds Andrew built me on the south side of our house and the shared garden between our driveway and our neighbor’s driveway in the back. Add to that a small raised planter next to our backdoor for flowers and the raised bed planter on our deck for herbs and I’m all set!

This year we have so many different plants that are doing great into mid-October. Just today, I found onions in the raised beds that were ready to be picked (but I didn’t even know I had any that I didn’t catch the first time I harvested). There are three heads of broccoli to be picked anytime now. We have also still been picking tomatoes, bell peppers, jalapeños, and banana peppers. One night last week, our neighbor dug up the potatoes from our shared garden and left a few for us too! We have plants still flowering, produce still ripening, and a only a hint that it might frost next week. Today I planted garlic to grow for next year and am excited to see what happens.

What are your favorite plants to grow? I’m looking for ideas for next year— both produce and flowers!

~Natalie