I am not a gardener...

... but deep down I have the desire to make things grow. So every year I try to plan what it is that I want to plant. Most years I'm a little too ambitious in my ideas and I end up disappointed by the results. Because the truth is that I'm not a gardener.

But today I worked in the garden some, so we'll see what comes of it! My irises (which I've managed not to kill in 5 years so far!) are starting to come up, so I weeded out the dead growth from last year (I know I should have done it in the fall, but I'm not a gardener - remember?). I also planted some butterfly friendly wildflower seeds in the perennial garden and in the iris/tulip bed. We'll see if they sprout and attract butterflies, but I hope they do! I just think that would be neat. Ellie and I also did a little gardening this morning together. We stood by the sink and planted some seeds in little starter pots. It was fun for her to fill up the tiny pots with soil and we counted out five seeds for each pot. They're in the window sill now, so we'll see if they grow. If they do, we should have starters for daisies, tomatoes, basil, and oregano! The rest of the seeds I sowed in the big pots I have on the deck. One for tomatoes, one for daisies, and one for oregano and basil. Again, we'll see if anything happens, but I'll be okay if nothing does.

I usually have very bad luck container gardening. Moreso than bed gardening! I don't actually have a space set aside for a vegetable garden, so right now I just plant a couple things in my perennial garden (which is actually going on it's 3rd year and doing well!). Last year I tried onions, peppers, and tomatoes in the pots on the deck. The only thing that made it at all was the onions. I was surprised, because when I plant tomatoes in the garden they grow fine! So I will put another tomato plant in the garden this year, provided I can find a good spot for a tomato bush. I am also going to try to plant some onions (they were so good last year!) and garlic, too. I think I'll pass on the peppers this year for lack of space, but maybe revisit that idea in the future.

Basically I am learning something about gardening in Montana. Short season crops are good. Like tomatoes... they do fairly well. If they need a longer growing season, they'd better grow under the ground, like onions, garlic, carrots, and potatoes! Someday I'd like to grow some potatoes. That would be fun. Maybe I'll stick one of the potatoes that's sprouting eyes in my pantry into the ground and see what it does! I don't know the first thing about growing potatoes, but it would be fun to try someday, and I know they do well here. And I can use all the help I can get when it comes to growing things. Because try as I might, I am NOT a gardener.