Garden Updates

For those of you wondering how our lawn transformation (lol) is going, I wanted to give you all an update. We’re making good progress, so much so that if we get even a third of the produce we’re planting (and I manage to effectively can all of it) we will be set for the winter. Another cool thing that we’re noticing is that almost all of the houses on our street, at least in our block, have started their own gardens, either larger vegetable gardens like ours, or smaller but thoroughly respectable little plots, or just porch boxes. It’s really cool to watch and to be part of this progress. Self-sufficiency comes in many forms, after all.

While we still have a lot more to do, including making the Acerbot to Erda, making offerings to Nerthus and Frey, and carrying phalloi for Dionysos around the perimeter to banish evil, we’re making steady progress, and already having the joy of seeing our vegetables and herbs grow. This is our primary in-ground bed so far:

We’ve got lettuce and dill and three rows of strawberries (eventually it’ll be three rows. Right now, there’s a little room to expand but strawberries are seriously hardy little plants. I was stunned to see how well they’ve handled the shitty weather). They’re for Freya and Hermes and Sigyn will have Her offerings too (Especially from some of the flowers we’ve planted). I was worried about the lettuce and dill at first. When I initially planted it, it was looking a bit peaked but now, I’m happy to report they’re both doing better and over the weekend we’re going to get our brussels sprouts, broccoli, and cauliflower in, following with other veggies later in the week as weather permits.

We have a nice herb garden here (and of course there are a bunch more in boxes on the porch, and in a smaller back-yard garden not pictured here):

We planted a ton of nettle by the porch (While I cannot take nettle internally due to certain health issues, it is an excellent herb medicinally and I like its warrior energy, hence, it’s placement by the front door):

I have two standing porch boxes. One for tomatoes and peppers:

One for onions and spinach (though I’ll be planting more spinach elsewhere):

And just for the beauty, we planted some flowers (marigolds, poppies, lobelia, vervain, pinks, with room for more – I plan to drop by the garden center and get more this weekend plus we have several rose bushes on their way), though lobelia makes a good tincture, especially when combined with a bit of cayenne for chest issues, and marigolds are edible. We also planted foxglove and hollyhock for the fae:

My favorite flowers are poppies, roses, and sunflowers. We are planting two of the three and my next-door neighbor grows the hugest sunflowers I have ever seen, and we share. Our next steps will involve planting the large bed fully and then we’re waiting on two 4×8 foot above ground beds to arrive. They’ll be going on the other side of the house. Plus, we have a beautiful elderberry tree to plant. We’ll also be honoring the Minoan Poppy Goddess when the flowers begin to bloom, since the poppies specifically are Hers. We pour offerings to Sunna, our Sun Goddess when the sunflowers bloom, and we’ll be putting in night-blooming jasmine and other flowers for Mani. Elderberry and rose themselves are elders amongst plant spirits so they too will have their offerings. I’ve also planted two Jupiter’s Beard plants, in honor of Him, by our front door. They’re next to the nettle.

While we’re waiting for our veggies to grow, our household has joined a local CSA. Starting at the end of May, we’ll be receiving weekly buckets of produce. I’m excited about that. It lets us support a local farm, we get the benefit of locally grown vegetables, and my ancestors have been pushing us to make friends with local farmers, start developing a network, etc. and so, this is a good place to begin. That’s where we’re at.

Most importantly, this has opened the door to a devotional relationship with Ceres, Who became very, very present during our preparations. We intend to set up a shrine to Her at the head of the garden bed, where we will be making regular offerings.