Hoppe Ever After

I have NEVER had a green thumb, and so taking on gardening as a hobby has been quite the challenge for me. However, I am so committed to being able to grow and harvest my own supply of something, to be sustainable, to share something I can create, that I know I will (eventually) get this down.

This year, my usual plans of sowing seeds in the spring outside have changed a bit. I decided to instead begin my garden indoors with an indoor garden system. My garden has 12 pods for planting seeds. My hope is to transplant some of my plants to an outdoor garden this spring and summer, but having the indoor garden ensures I’ll have successful year-round produce to use.

I’m starting my garden with simple herbs. I love cooking, and love experimenting with various seasonings, so herbs were an obvious place to start (and I usually have the most success with these anyway). My planter so far has parsley, basil, chives, oregano, thyme, sage, cilantro, dill, and then lavender. While I’m aware lavender is not an herb, it just takes longer to grow so I wanted to get started on it right away. I plan to soon add mint and rosemary to my growing herbs.

My ultimate goal for my garden is to create a “tea garden.” I want to produce herbs and flowers that I can dry and use to make my own herbal teas, as well as use for natural cleaning and skin products. I simply love herbal and floral scents, especially combined, and these herbs and flowers have so many natural benefits for cleaning, healing, and more that I decided this was my best course of action in beginning my garden this year.

The flowers I’m going with in my garden are echinacea, chamomile, marigold, and rose bushes. While I hope to start these florals inside this season as well, I plan to ultimately transplant and grow them in my raised garden bed because I think this will also be a beautiful addition to my back yard. I’m choosing a damask rose variety as these are generally the hardiest and most successful where we live, and are highly recommended for teas and anything I want a floral scent for. They’re known for their strong scents.

Then, to really throw everyone for a loop, I’m working on a lemon bush as well. I love lemons and am always needing them, so why not grow them?! Plus I’ve seen so many beautiful pictures of lemon trees and bushes growing in beautiful vintage pots, which just adds to my desire to grow my own. Lemon plants are pretty hardy except in frosty conditions, so I’ll begin my adventure with my lemons indoors and ultimately move them outside. If they don’t grow too big, I’ll move them back inside for the winter, but am also exploring small greenhouse options for our small backyard.

The problem with our property is we live in a development where homes are nearly on top of one another, we have less than a quarter acre of property each. I also have a 3-year-old and a large dog who loves his backyard, so it’s important to me to both have the garden of my dreams but without taking up my entire yard. While I have my ideas for plants this upcoming year, I have a long way to go to plan where everything will go and maintain a large play space for my family. Stay tuned over the next few weeks to check in with my planning, planting, and growth updates!