Growing a Garden - An Annual Challenge

Peppers

The seed catalogs have started showing up in my mailbox, and it’s this time of year I start dreaming of gorgeous gardens full of flowers, herbs, fruits, and veggies. I spend time daydreaming about the birds and bees and butterflies and ducks that will partake in the beauty and nourishment of my garden. 
Unfortunately, it takes years to grow such a garden, but each year I add a few more plants and the area becomes more of what I envision. ​

Merle & Lucinda

Spanish Lavender

Growing a garden is a marathon –
it is not a sprint. We must have intimate knowledge of how the sun shines on our property and for how long each day. We must know how the drainage is and if the soil contains the proper nutrients. It can take a good season or two just to get the soil ready to grow anything but nasty weeds. 
But all of that work is worth it when you can walk out into a garden teeming with life and pick nutrients and flavor for your dinner. 
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What if you could walk outside to a little kitchen garden and grab basil and sage to add to your meal? Or out to your tea garden to collect chamomile and lemongrass for a delicious fresh tea? Maybe you dream of a medicinal garden where you choose lavender for a headache and peppermint for an upset stomach.

This year I challenge you to pick one plant you really want to grow. It can be a flower, a fruit, a vegetable, a shrub, an herb. 
Whatever that one thing is, learn as much as you can about that one plant. What conditions does it grow best in, are there benefits, can you cook with it, what pests does it attract, what are its strengths or weaknesses? 

What if, every year instead of trying to learn as much as we can about everything and feeling far behind, we learned a ton about one thing. If you become an expert on one plant a year, think about how much garden knowledge you will have. Think about all the wonderful things you will grow perfectly! 
Who's to say by year two or three you won't have the capacity in that old brain to become an expert on two plants. 
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If you do try to master more than one plant per year, make sure you have the time to devote to both. There is nothing sadder than dead plants in the garden. 
Let me know what you plan on becoming an expert on this year, and I would love to see pictures of your success!
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MB trimming Lilac among the Rhododendron

Photo Credits: Joe Baladez(also the one who maintains MB's garden:)