I’ve never been much of a gardener. It could have been the lack of time, the lack of space, the lack of knowledge, or the combination of all of the above. But I have never prioritized planting things since our childhood garden.
I did love our garden as a child, though, and some of my fondest memories are of snapping peas fresh from the garden, or “decorating” a pizza with zucchini slices that were way too abundant (while watching 21 Jump Street, of course). We once lived in a home lined in roses, and I adored those, but they didn’t need much work.
Gardening Is Good For You
I recently heard the phrase, “you don’t have to be good at gardening, gardening is good for you,” and it resonated. When we moved to our most recent home, the backyard was a blank postage stamp of dirt that was not fertile ground for planting. The homeowner sweetly gifted me two raised beds she had handy, and I saw the potential for more. I also didn’t have a lot of additional funds to dedicate, so as I’ve always done, I went about making something out of nothing.
A Bed from a Bed
After buying my son’s new bunk bed for his room, rather than donating, selling, or tossing the captain’s bed he has slept on his whole life, and his sister slept in before him, I turned it into a raised bed. The drawers “pulled out” and filled with soil, the frame filled too. I made a bed from a bed.. see what I did there? But what to plant?
Flowers are lovely and I’m really into ones that smell nice. I also like to keep it simple, so roses, jasmine, mint and lavender went in the one small planter and a half wine barrel that we got free from Craiglist. However, the larger beds clearly needed some vegetables or something worth eating. There was no chance I would be planting zucchinis after seeing the baseball bats they could turn into as a kid. Lettuce might be handy, but how much would I eat it? My husband wanted corn and I laughed at the idea of a very mini 4×4 cornfield. Watermelon is my favorite but I’ve never grown a very tasty one successfully and hate to be disappointed. I thought about what vegetables I really like and that weren’t too hard to grow.
What Do You Love?
When it comes down to it, what I love are fresh home grown tomatoes. The Ojai heat is perfect for making a delicious, juicy tomato for a summertime tomato sandwich, a fresh pico de gallo or to add to a chargrilled burger. I also love basil. A fresh pesto is amazing, a little basil added to a drink or to a simple pasta dish or salad is so refreshing. And above all, do you know what I love? Caprese salad. The combination of the fresh tomato and basil with mozzarella and my homemade garlic-infused balsamic dressing is my absolute specialty. Layering the 3 ingredients and drizzling with dressing is a beautiful dish evocative of the flag of Italy, as it should be!
Keep it Simple
And there we have it. I made a decision. Like many things in my life, I kept it simple, focused and doable! I decided to plant tomatoes and basil. Lots of them. Lots of varieties. That’s it. Caprese all summer. I can’t tell you how much I recommend it. The simplicity is refreshing. I don’t have time to learn how to care for a lot of different plants! I don’t have the capacity to pick and choose and wonder. I planted cherry tomatoes and heirloom tomatoes and beefsteak tomatoes. I planted sweet basil, lemon basil, purple ruffle leaf basil and African blue basil. And I made the beautiful caprese layered salads. I made messy quick caprese salads with left-over lunchbox string cheese. I made pasta caprese salad and caprese pasta. I made bruschetta and pico de gallo and tomato sandwiches too! I felt fancy and organic in all circumstances. Simple, doable, delicious. That’s the way I am rolling with my garden.
Take a Bite
So, if you feel overwhelmed by gardening, take a bite-sized piece. If I can do it, you can! It feels so good. I still have a lot to learn. Like… fertilizer is a whole thing? But once you handle that bite-sized piece, you may be ready to branch out! I may add some onions and peppers and get into a salsa garden eventually. For now, the caprese garden is everything. If only I could learn to farm that mozzarella.
