How Does Your Garden Grow?

My garden grows very well, thank you.

Of course, that's only because Patrick waters and prunes and cares for it.  If he didn't, it would look like the barren streets of Detroit (another window into why I should never birth children).  This afternoon I added my own touch to our little garden greenhouse: celery and green onions.  If you've spent anymore than 30 seconds scrolling through Pinterest, then I'm assuming you have stumbled across the grow-your-own-celery trick.  Supposedly, if you plant the base in your garden, brand new celery will magically grow, Jack and the Beanstalk style.  Science experiments and cheapness happen to be two of my favorite things, so I ran outside with my celery and plopped it in a pot.  Now we wait.

Through the ever impressive portal of Pinterest, I found another great idea: re-growing green onions.  Just place a few green onions from the grocery store in a jar of water and leave in a sunny window.  As you cut what you need, the plant will grow back, giving you a mini harvest of green onions.  This project is from a cute blog, 17apart.com, full of yummy looking recipes and gardening tips (these tomato ideas made my mouth water).
(photo from 17apart.com)

This summer's porch garden is skimpy compared to last year's. With our kittens to care for, we didn't spend much time preparing in the spring, but even a small garden is better than no plants at all. Homegrown food is not only inexpensive, but its much fresher and healthier.  Caring for the garden is also a bonding experience for us, and having a quiet, fresh little space to sit and breathe is priceless.

Our harvest will include: tomatoes, peppers, radishes, garden greens, strawberries, parsley, basil, and mint.  I'm looking forward to pesto, mint tea, and pico de gayo.  I don't mind my cozy apartment, but I do dream of having a house with ample space for a garden someday. 

And since we're thinking about Detroit, here's a sad but appropriate picture from Facebook.

Funny, but until I moved to Grand Rapids, I thought all big cities looked like Detroit.  I just assumed abandoned buildings, smoking man hole covers, and rampant crime were a standard part of the urban sky line.  It turns out that street art, community gardens, and festivals are just as common in most cities.