Gardener of the Month

Today I've decided to highlight a Somerville gardener, friend, and neighborhood posse member, Karen D. She recently became a backyard gardener, enjoying the largeness of a recently built boxed-in bed.

This winter I sat down with Karen, Laura (another gardening enthusiast), and Erik (the maker of the boxed-in garden) to talk about growing from seeds, what to plant & when, etc. After our talk, Karen bought a bunch of seed packets, Erik got working on the box, and Laura and I studied up on the plant book for our community gardens.



I finally visited Karen's house & garden this weekend, and upon walking on the front porch I immediately noticed the orange and pink Lantanas (I didn't know they could grow big enough to be hanging plants!).


We went out back to the garden, and I was in awe of the well-built box and neatly ordered rows where each set of seeds or seedlings were planted.

Some very well-trained peas were making their ascent along a chain link fence in their arrow-straight row (Karen & I both bought peas seeds at the same place/time. Though I bought 2 varieties, one of which is not doing nearly as well as these babies).

She also had baby lettuce greens & a gourmet mix popping up in front, as well as swiss chard, spinach, and onion seedlings sprouting up. Several tomatoes, peppers, and herbs were waiting to be planted, and nearby were some empty spaces left for cucumbers (and something else which I can't recall).

Karen also gave me the tour of her other yard plants, including the hydrangeas, pesky rhubarb & morning glories, and strawberries.











Thanks for showing your garden, Karen. You're off to a great start, can you believe this is her first year doing vegetable gardening? Looking forward to a "lettuce dinner" this summer...I'll bring the romaine and cilantro!