my mama's garden

Although those photographs might all look similar, there is actually very little overlap in the contents of each image.  I took all the images standing in one spot in the middle of my parents' backyard, rotating clockwise about 25 degrees each photo.  My mama's garden is a container garden full of more than 30 10-gallon pots.  Plus, a fig tree (far left) and some smaller pots for herbs (pictured separately, below).

Houston is very lucky to have such a long growing season.  Actually, the weather reasonably permits two whole growing seasons-- time to grow a whole set of plants and start over in the middle of the summer with a whole new set of plants.  In DC, we hadn't even begun our seeds yet (although we could have), and my mama's already eating zucchini she grew in the backyard.

tomatoes 

eggplant

aren't eggplant blossoms the prettiest?  and those dark purple stalks!

My mama's growing all my favorites.  She has over ten tomato plants, bell peppers, zucchini, squash, eggplant... if I were home, I would eat from her garden all summer (and spring and fall) long.

pepper blossoms

more tomatoes.  tomatoes are my favorite to grow, too.

zucchini

yellow squash

Although I have successfully regenerated green onions in our apartment before, and I tried to start a pineapple plant, I'm amazed by the plants my family has cultivated from pits of food purchased at the grocery store.  Mangoes, avocados and I think my mama might've mentioned a guava?

incredible avocado plant grown from a pit

mango tree grown from a pit

all the herbs: cilantro, parsley, sage, rosemary, thyme and basil

even lemongrass!

Definitely makes me want to get my hands in the dirt!  Even though it's getting a bit late to start our plants from seed this year, we will definitely be doing our own container garden again.  I can't wait!