Garden Dreams

Firstly sorry about the month delay in posting, there have been many things going on. More on that later. This post is dedicated to my first grown-up, all by myself garden.

When we first moved into our house, there were a couple of things that I REALLY REALLY wanted. One of these was a garden. I grew up with a rather large garden full of strawberries, snap peas, tomatoes, zucchini, corn, grapes, and anything else that might have been on sale at the nursery when it was planting time. The problem however is that the only location that would work for a garden is in my front yard.

My original plan was to put it on the side yard alongside the fruit trees we had already planted. The problem is that Cocoa's favorite spot in the yard is, of course, on that side where she basks in the sun. Plus James and I were not really looking forward to putting up a fence. The other side did not get enough sun and was already landscaped. So the front yard it was.

I chose a great location next to the fence hidden from the street but full sun. I purchased the perfect vegetables to plant at the perfect price. I got the perfect fertilizer for my perfect garden and last weekend I spent three hours preparing the soil, measuring out the perfect rows, digging the multiple holes at the correct dept and circumference, and lastly planing and watering my new creations. I was pretty proud of myself actually. Doing my part to be prepared and be self-sufficient. But then it happened...

Last night we got home late from work after re-locating the Explorer to a different spot with hopes someone who was looking for an SUV would drive by and have to buy it. I changed into my usual sweat pants and then grabbed the watering bucket to water the newest additions. As I turned the corner I saw it and I wanted to cry. Something/someone had eaten all of the leaves off of all of the plants. Not like an insect who munches over the course of a couple of weeks through the lush foliage, no these leaves were ripped off of the stems and consumed. Someone made a salad of my garden and left me with plant stubs!

Already I am planning on new ways to start over. They may or may not include an electric fence, no trespassing sign, security camera, and barbed wire. One day my dream of a beautiful garden will come to fruition, but I might need a couple weeks to recover from the loss.