My 2010 (Gardening) Adventure

I am notoriously bad at keeping New Year's Resolutions.  (Even when I (grudgingly) make them, I admit that they are going to be broken immediately, as you see here.)  So while I was toying with the idea of making a resolution on growing more edibles in January, something held me back:  The idea that this was one thing at which I actually wanted to succeed.

And then, I had my eureka moment:  I need to think of it not as a resolution... but as an experiment!

Experiments, now there are things that I can get into.  A quick search of my blog shows that I have pages worth of posts that contain the word "experiment."  They cover things like growing currants as topiaries in a semi-shaded spot that needed some structural plants... which had the added benefit of resulting in a delicious tart, made from these:

I'm just such a fan of melding form AND function... and of eating from my own backyard... that this makes sense on all kinds of levels.  So my EXPERIMENT for this gardening year will be as follows:

In 2010, I will limit my plant, seed and corm/root purchases to things that are actually edible.  Because I am all-too-aware of my weakness for pretty plants (and already had a couple of plans concocted) I will allow myself 3 exceptions to the above rule... and will strive for everything else to be both pretty AND tasty.  I will also consume, share and/or put up as much of my garden's produce as humanly possible this year.

I hope that you all will follow along with this gardening adventure of mine. I'm sure that there are going to be some bumps in the road, a few inventive recipes, LOADS of temptations, and lots of dirty fingernails along the way.  Stay tuned!

Beautiful AND functional:   Peach tree blossoms from the 2009 garden.