the life & times of a wannabe cook: Not-So-Secret-Garden

hello blog-world! it's been a good long while since i've bothered to check in.

we have been working on our backyard for what seems like 134 years now and it's finally coming together in such a way that i look forward to going home, checking on our plants and maybe even eating dinner outside!

i love it!

and the weather is still fabulous for outdoor dining (in the morning & evening at least)

i'll have to post pictures later of the yard as a whole, but for now i'll just let you in on the latest additions.

this is my MEYER LEMON TREE!!!

i'm so excited about it. the genius that is my husband surprised me with this tree a couple of weeks ago and i'm so proud that he picked out EXACTLY what i would have picked myself!! of ALL the varieties of fruit trees in the world, he picked the one i wanted - and i don't ever recall discussing it with him! which is even MORE impressive! :)

this is a baby tree, but someday, it's going to have some beautiful meyer lemons ... and i'll make you all something delicious!

this is what a meyer lemon looks like ... sort of like an orange!! and that would be because it is thought to be a hybrid fruit - of a lemon and a tangerine!

and next up are the herbs. please bear with me, but when i planted all the herbs i decided to take a picture of each one individually so i can keep track of their growth :) i don't know why it matters to me, but i wanted to see how long it took for them to grow from their baby sizes (when i bought them at lowes/home depot) to the size where i could cut from them and still have some left to grow for the next meal ;)

so let's start with the classic simon & garfunkel album "parsley, sage, rosemary & thyme"

i also have a little oregano plant ... and i'm going to plant basil and cilantro as well.

that stuff grows like a weed, though ... so i'm not really in a huge hurry to get it planted.

i'm afraid it will take over! :)

here are the other plants ... the oregano and a gardenia bush!

i can't wait until the lovely smelling gardenias start to grow!

one more thing ... i bought this fun shepherd's hook and hung a hummingbird feeder and a potted geranium plant from it! i love looking out my kitchen window and seeing this colorful sight!

and for good measure, a shot of the herb garden, complete with a cute "herb" sign i bought at homegoods MONTHS ago. it's just been waiting patiently in my garage until i decided to grace the garden with some actual herbs. :)