How does your garden grow?

I live in an inner city neighbourhood.

Pros:

• Beautiful old trees shade the sidewalks and yards.
• I get to live in a gorgeous almost-100 year old character home with hardwood floors and crown mouldings and real front porch.
• I live walking distance from the grocery store, two parks, E's school, video rentals, restaurants, the library..........

Cons:

• The trees require me to have an (expensive) annual visit from the roto-rooter man.
• The gorgeous house has no closets.
• My shady yard is teeny.

I have always envied my suburban friends with their giant yards and gardens. I love the idea of a garden, but have never had the space to try it out. A few years ago Richard built a raised box for me in the back yard so I could have a few tomatoes and lettuce and herbs--and a couple of years after that a neigbour erected a shed directly on the other side of it, blocking all the sun my little garden got. I didn't know tomatoes and herbs need lots of sun, so most of my crops failed.

I am learning urban gardening requires some flexibility and creativity. The balcony off my bedroom gets full sun for half a day--my tomatoes, herbs, and some bell peppers will be growing in pots up there, if I can remember to water them! My lettuce and some cucumbers get the shady bed in the back yard.

This year, a darling friend hooked me up with a community garden plot so I can really get my hands dirty. This weekend, despite SNOW in the forecast this past week and the fact that the bird bath is still frozen most mornings, I got out my tools and my gloves and dug in. It is the May long weekend after all. It is the Official Start to the Gardening season here, even if Mother Nature disagrees.

How does your garden grow? Do you have any advice for a gardening greenhorn??

Two beds are mine. Doesn't look like much yet....

Charlotte likes to help--for the first five minutes. Then she runs off to the school playground across the street

Emmett doesn't like to get his hands dirty, but he does like taking pictures.