I live in southeastern Connecticut where the growing season is very short. I have had a love of growing things all my life. My grandfather had two lovely vegetable gardens, mother always had houseplants and, for decades my father always had a tomato garden. As he got older, it became too much work, and he let it go.
When we moved into my ancestral home in 1995, one of the first things we did was put in two very big gardens; one for veggies and one for flowers. I had smaller one for herbs. For a few years it went well but then we got a load of manure from a local farm that was so full of weed seeds…they destroyed both gardens. We could not get rid of them for anything! Add to that, we had a large deer population at the time and they ate everything we planted. It became disheartening and we just had to let it grow over, let nature take it back, and keep everything nicely trimmed with the mower.
For many years, I took to gardening in containers in my deck and that went very well. I grew tomatoes, cucumbers, peppers, and all sorts of herbs and flowers in a wide variety of pots. It was fun and they did very well.
Then, I fell into a bottle and didn't find my way out for a few years. During that time there was no gardening and I could hardly keep a houseplant alive. I spent a long time dealing with that mess and dragging myself out of that bottle. When I did, I found gardening again. I started doing containers once more and things were going well.
COVID hit!
It was horrible. It's a time I never want to relive. The shelves of my local supermarkets were completely empty for months on end.
Like others, we decided we were going to renew our in-ground gardening efforts. We're older now, digging a vegetable garden ourselves was not a great idea so we hired a young man to come and dig out a 16x20 patch of land in full sun and right off our deck. I argued a bit with my husband over it's placement but I know myself and so I insisted it had to be in a spot that I could see all the time. If I could see it all the time, I would get my butt out there even during the hottest weeks of the year, to weed and water and all of that happy stuff. But if it was off to the side, where it had been before, my old brain would just consider that 'too long of a walk' and I'd talk myself out of taking care of the plants. Yes, that's silly, crazy, weird…I know…but it's still true.
That's where we started, there's our dogs Zoey and Loki. We loamed the entire thing and then set to work on the borders.
We used composite decking planks because they won't rot. This year we added the second layer.
We also had to buy more topsoil. We found a 'great deal' and had it delivered. Once it was raked out we discovered it was absolutely full of old metal, glass, odd animal parts, rocks, and other assorted things. We had to loam the whole thing again.
On the left you can see our potato tower and garlic box.
We don't use any chemical fertilizer or pest control in any of our gardens. I've found the smell of fish emollition is very good at keeping the deer away!The neighbors too at times.
We had a huge crop of tomatoes last year! So many we couldn't possibly use them all and they just kept coming! I made a base sauce with a lot of them and froze it. I gave a lot away.
Yes, that's me and I am all of 5'3"
This year I was careful not to overplant the tomatoes or the veggie garden in general. (The following pictures were taken 7/17/21.)
We have (right to left) two rows of tomatoes with a row of basil between, two rows of assorted peppers (green, purple, jalapeno, mammoth jalapeno, and sweet banana), along with two eggplant and lettuce that really needs to be removed by now.Look at all those cucumbers growing so nicely up their fence. Usually they're spread out all over the place but this year they, the watermelon (that did not get killed by hubby's hoeing), and a few cantaloupe are taking to it very well.
Not that you can make them out very well, but there's a rose garden on the far right and on the far left is my new herb garden.
I'm still growing things in containers!
We have pink and purple petunias, lemon balm, white calla, two pots of yarrow that need to be planted, strawberries, salmon lilies, and my favorite right in front of the Buddha….a mango! Yes, I ate a mango and put the seed in the dirt. I hope I can keep it alive through the winter.
Last but not least, I picked up these two beauties just yesterday. Yes, I am a Plant Rescuer! Especially this time of year, if I find a plant that's being unloved I'll take it home and nurse it back to health.
The tallest one is a Mr. Lincoln rose and the shorter one is a Miss All American Beauty rose. They were 50% off at Home Depot! I could hardly restrain myself and keep to buying just two of them.
The First Sin (South of Eden) Lisa Beth Darling
Genre: Contemporary Fiction
Publisher: Moon Mistress Publishing
Date of Publication: 7/31/2021
ASIN: B096QZF49Q
Number of pages: 340
Word Count: 135,000
Cover Artist: Lisa Beth Darling
Tagline: Lucifer Returns to Eden
Book Description:
Lucifer is unceremoniously yanked out of Hell by his Father so he can return to his old job in the Garden of Eden. When he arrives, broken, battered, and bleeding, he falls into the arms of Eve who is unsure about seeing her old lover again as are the people now living in a dying paradise.
Tasked with returning the Sacred Trees of Life and Knowledge to flourishing bounty once more, Lucifer struggles to learn his new place in his old home. Yet, he hasn't been placed there solely to tend the Garden. His son, Cain, is on the way with murder and destruction on his mind.
Having lived, cursed by God, for eons, Cain Enoch has made quite a name for himself and amassed a fortune that would make even his Grandfather envious and with it he'll stop at nothing to find Eden and destroy. Why? So he can finally die even though it means taking the Earth, Heaven, and Hell with him.
Excerpt:
"My Father said there was no money in Art," she huffed and
took a long swallow from her glass, "he insisted I get a real job."
"Dads," Cain said in a dreamy tone as he looked at a painting
of a garden. Something about it called to him. It was so real he thought he
could almost smell the patch of honeysuckle as it radiated its sweetness under
that bright summer sun. Something about it seemed familiar but he couldn’t pin
it down. "They can be real assholes." He finished his glass and
slipped his arm around her waist when he heard her start to choke. "You
ok?"
"Fine," she stammered even as she blushed. "You’re so
right, real assholes," she agreed getting her reaction under control,
"but they’re not here now."
"Thank God for that," he said with more grimace than smile.
"Yeah," she sighed and drank down the last of her glass,
"more?"
Cain, who normally had such sharp ears and was such an excellent judge
of people, was still so captured by the painting that he missed the whole
thing. Instead he pointed at it and asked, "Where is this?"
Jesse didn't miss a beat even as her breath caught in her chest,
"Devil's Hop Yard, it's a park in Connecticut." She stopped for a
second as she took him in and then casually asked, "Do you like it?"
"Devil's Hop Yard," he repeated still a distant tone as he
stared at it. Cain had been all over the world several hundred times and the
name seemed familiar but he couldn't say he'd ever been there.
"Earth to Cain," Jesse chuckled as she snapped her fingers in
front of his glassy eyes.
"Hello?"
That brought him back around and he tried to cover the moment with a
laugh, "Sorry. Yeah, I love it, it's beautiful, it's like, like, I've been
there before." He reached out to touch it but she grabbed his wrist.
"Nope, no touch, we do not put our greasy finger prints on the
paint," she said with a serious grin.
"Oh, yeah, right," he muttered as he felt her leading him
away from the artwork that he just couldn't take his eyes from until she fully
pointed him towards the second hand couched with their thick blankets and the
burning hearth next to them. "More wine?" He asked trying to force
himself the rest of the way out of his daze.
"There's a delayed echo in here," she cooed as she plopped
down on one of the couches and held up her empty glass. Silently she cursed
herself for displaying that painting. She never intended for him to see it and
convinced herself he never would. Even if he did, it was just a painting. In
the end, her pride won out and she felt it was too good not to put on the wall
of her little Art Studio.
"What about those?" Cain asked as he filled their glasses and
pointed off to one corner where canvases were standing back to front. "What's
over there?"
"Oh, God, no," she moaned. "Those are not for
viewing." She laughed. "They're just, well, one day I'll just paint
over them."
"Temperamental artist, I see," he grinned
and settled in next to her.
About the Author:
Lisa Beth Darling is 54 years-old, the mother of
two adult daughters, grandmother to one, and wife to her husband, Roy, for the
last 35 years. She lives and writes in her hometown of New London, CT.
Early influences were Stephen King, Mary Higgins Clark, Harold Robins,
Jacqueline Susan and VC Andrews.
Her stories are filled with secrets, lust, betrayal, and sometimes rage, they
may keep you awake into the wee hours of the morning cheering, weeping, and
captured by suspense as our heroes and heroines have their love tested by
demons who reside within and without.
In her spare time she enjoys gardening and photography as well as cooking and
baking. She also enjoys helping other authors bring their works to the world
stage.
Sign Up for Lisa’s Mailing List: https://bitly.com/
WebSite: http://www.lisabethdarling.com
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/lbdarlingauthor
Twitter: https://twitter.com/darlingwrtr
Instagram: http://instagram.com/darlingwrtr
Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Lisa-Beth-Darling/e/B002BMDA9I
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/1577311.Lisa_Beth_Darling
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