The Tessem's Garden

As many of you have heard, we have taken full advantage of having a yard this year and have done a lot of gardening. In our years of apartment life in Denver, we would always grow a few tomato plants, lettuce, and peppers. We even went as far as attempting to grow squash and corn on our little deck, to no avail. Well, this year we have enjoyed both the longer growing season as well as the added space, and may have gone overboard with our enthusiasm. We will see how well it works in the end, but as of right now, things are exciting. Below are a few pictures of the crops, as well as two of our "crops" (Grace was running around away from the camera). We hope that you enjoy:
Lily Anne and Benjamin posing for the picture. I really think that these two are great friends. They have a lot of fun playing together (the best is the melding of toys and playing styles. Lily loves to play with her Polly Pockets, and Benjamin will play with her....as long as they can have superpowers and he gets the short haired ones and they can be boys). Anyway, it really makes Kathleen and I happy when they play instead of fight.

Kathleen's peas, with fresh pods growing. This was so exciting to see. We have been checking them every day, and when the flowers came on we got really happy. Our landlord said he didn't think anything would grow where they are, but apparently Kathleen's green thumb and my excessive watering pays off.
Our group of tomatoes, peppers, basil, and squash. I am really excited for all of this. We got a few cool tomato plants, purple ones (I think Cherokee?) as well as some yellow ones. I am also excited about the peppers, a number of which we grew from a seed mix called "hot peppers". I am excited to see what we get. I am also excited to have tons of Basil to make all of the pesto that my heart desires. Last year we had one basil plant that we bought in August, and it got huge in three months. I am hoping that all seven of the plants that we have grow like crazy (especially the Thai and Lemon basil, those will be fun).
Benjamin with the Collards, Beets, Potatoes and carrots. We were surprised at how quickly those potatoes took off. The beets are also a great addition. Kathleen loves beets, and I love beet greens. It is a nice combination for the two of us. Lily also likes the collards, and every time that we are out there she asks if she can take off just one leaf to eat. Gardens teach patients very well. Lily with the herbs, onions, and beans. We have decided to try a number of different types of beans. I am excited for the yellow ones, and they are so fun to watch as they pop out of the ground. It has been amazing to see how quickly they change over night, literally we come out and then there is a complete group of seeds that have just shot out of the ground.
Lily and Benjamin helping to water the corn. I think the corn is Kathleen's favorite. She is really exited for it. It was her idea to try and grow corn on our deck a few years ago. She had six or seven in one pot, and they all grew big, and even had corn starting to grow, until a big wind came and blew it and broke it. Hopefully it will work out good for her this year.

Anyway, thanks for letting me ramble about our garden. It is fun for us, and we just like to share the fun things.