The Garden is Planted!!!

A six am wake up call, while particularly loathsome, does have certain attributes. Namely, the 2 hour morning nap. Every morning I when I drag my supple behind out of bed, I vow that nap time for baby will be nap time for mommy. As I have learned, however, nap time for baby is a gloriously productive time for mommy. The fact that I have things to do, along with the two or more cups of coffee I have consumed mean I rarely take a nap. However, I do get things done...when I am not stuck in front of the idiot box. No, not the TV - the computer and the numerous blogs I follow. But I digress...
This morning was no exception. After tucking Lily in for a nap, out into the sunshine I headed. There was much to do...flowers to be planted, containers to be planted, beds to be planted. And though I am now covered from head to toe in dirt and other less appetizing "stuff" (think compost manure), my garden is planted and I am anxiously waiting to reap the rewards. Grow plants grow!
For your viewing pleasure:

The container portion of my garden. We have Roma tomatoes, jalapeno peppers, hot banana peppers and sweet banana peppers. In the herb planter, I have sweet basil, Greek oregano, cilantro and Italian (flat leaf) parsley.

In the main bed, from left to right: cucumbers, beefsteak tomatoes, crookneck squash, zucchini, butternut squash. At the far right, the green you see is some garlic that came back from last year. I am not sure what it will do, but I am going to give it a chance.

In this side garden, from left to right, I have romaine lettuce, spinach, and red sail lettuce. There is also a tomato plant. This garden was there when we moved in. It doesn't get a ton of sun, which is why I put the leafies there. I fried my spinach plant last year in the main garden because it gets a ton of sun. This garden is also a total pain because the icky silver maple in the front yard drops it's helicopters, which take up residence in this bed. I spend most of my spring and early summer evicting baby maple trees.

These are the geraniums from the whiskey barrel in our front yard. I always have such a hard time deciding what flowers to put in it. The tree shades most of the front of the house for most of the day, so I need something that does well in the shade. I have tried petunias, impatiens, and a couple other flowers with varying degrees of success. Here's to hoping these do well!

And then there are my hostas, which I love because they require exactly zero effort on my part.

There are still a couple finishing touches I need to put on the garden. I might plant some carrots along the front of the main garden. I have some seeds left over from a couple years ago. I don't have high hopes for them, but I might just plant them and see what happens. I also am deciding whether or not to mulch the garden. I hate HATE hate weeding and tend to get lazy about my garden as the summer progresses. Mulch may help. I have read about putting down shredded newspaper and covering it with mulch. Apparently weeds can't get through the newspaper. If anyone has had any success with this method, I would love to hear about it. My containers also need a new home. This summer my dogs will not enjoy the benefit of a fenced in yard because they regard the garden as a buffet. Therefore, they will be chained up when outside. The chain, which has been purchased but not yet installed, will reach the back of the deck. I am thinking I might just move the containers next to the garden, with the exception of the herbs. Those will probably reside on top of the hot tub. Although the dogs would probably leave those alone anyway.
So there you have it...two hours worth of effort and hopefully fresh produce all summer long.