My Deck Garden’s New Pergola and Early Planting Adventures

It’s been a transformative year for my deck garden, and I’m so excited to finally share the changes with you. In years past, I’ve always updated you on my gardening plans, successes, and failures, but this year, I got a bit sidetracked. I added a small pergola to the garden, and while I knew I’d like it, I didn’t expect to fall completely in love with it. The moment I step out of the conservatory onto the deck, it feels like I’m entering a whole new room—a little fantasy land surrounded by my plants. The pergola has truly enhanced the space in ways I can’t quite describe.One of the best additions the pergola brought is the ability to hang baskets for the first time since I moved here 13 years ago, which has been an absolute thrill. I also upgraded the dim solar light caps with new, pricier ones that illuminate the garden beautifully from dusk until dawn. On top of that, I found charming solar lanterns and placed one in each of the window boxes, creating a whimsical glow that I adore. 

I moved my mosaic-top table from the conservatory to the garden so I can enjoy my morning coffee while listening to birdsong. This table used to be my go-to for tablescapes indoors, so I’m still figuring out how to adapt. I might try creating tablescapes outside, or I may need to adjust to using the larger table inside for a more intimate table-for-two setup. We’ll see how it all unfolds! 

As for the garden itself, I’m off to an exciting start. I grew various colors of bell peppers from seeds I harvested from organic peppers, and they’re already thriving. I’m equally thrilled about the Charentais melon seeds I saved from last year. After a late planting last season that yielded just three (albeit juicy and delicious) melons, I planted earlier this year, and the seeds sprouted in just a couple of days. I’m hopeful for a bigger harvest this time around. 

I’m also giving zucchini another shot, despite my past struggles with it. While it seems like everyone else can grow zucchini with ease, I’ve yet to succeed, so I’m trying a new variety this year and keeping my fingers crossed for better results. I’ll share an update in a month to let you know how everything’s growing and how the pergola continues to shape this magical space. 

 

What about you? What’s growing in your garden this season? I’d love to hear about your planting adventures—drop a comment below and share your story!

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Deck Garden, End of the Year Assessment

 

Summer has nearly come to an end, and it is time to recap how well things went in my deck garden this year. For the most part, I consider this year to be a bit on the mediocre side. After all of my efforts, loving care, not to mention expense, I was underwhelmed by the lack of production.

My inability to grow peppers, other than jalapeños, has become quite frustrating. Year after year I plant pepper seeds, all kinds, all colors, they will reach a height of between 3 and 4 inches, and stop right there and never do a thing.

On the plus side, I got loads of tomatoes and cherry tomatoes, so much so that I was giving them away. That’s a good thing because there’s nothing more delicious than a summer tomato warm from the vine. On the downside, despite vines crawling all over the deck, I didn’t get a single cucumber. That puzzles me because generally, as with cherry tomatoes, I am giving those away.

  Another plus (and I am thrilled beyond words at this) is that the seeds I had harvested from a black heirloom tomato that Melissa’s Produce had sent me, germinated and produced! I planted this late, so I wasn’t really expecting anything, even though I got a couple of blossoms. There are two tomatoes here; one is small and obviously pecked by a bird, unfortunately. I’m keeping my fingers crossed that the other one makes it to the ripening stage. It should. Generally, I don’t have a need to pull up tomatoes until mid October, although the shorter days do impede their growth. I’m going to keep a careful watch on this, and photograph it weekly, so that I can capture the point when it begins to turn black. I’m so excited! 

The charentais melon seeds that I planted did quite well. I got 100% germination from all six of the seeds that I had harvested from an organic melon that I got from Melissa's Produce, and, like the cucumbers, those vines crawled all over the deck. Also, like the cucumbers, I didn’t get any melons… or so I thought. When I went out to pull up the vines, I got three of them pulled up, but when I pulled up the fourth, I heard a clunking sound. Upon examination, I noticed that there were six tiny melons on that vine. I cursed myself for having not been more patient. I did find another melon on one of the remaining vines, and I have been babying it ever since. I doubt, at this late stage, that it will be big enough to use, but I have been encouraged by this, and will certainly plant melons again next year.When I went out to water this morning, I saw yet another one on the way. It’s probably too late to actually turn into anything edible, but it’s exciting nonetheless. Clearly, I can grow melons. Noted for next year.Speaking of melons, this little mystery melon started growing in one of my window boxes. It’s not the same as the charentais melon because each striation is actually an indentation. This may just be a pumpkin! I have no idea where this came from. The only thing I can figure is that the neighbors have pumpkin seeds in the mixture they use to feed the birds, and one of the birds dropped it in my window box.

The scallions did well, my cash crop was jalapeños (I couldn’t give those away), the basil bolted way too soon, and I didn’t get one batch of pesto out of it. The Alstroemeria did quite well, and I am very pleased with the result of that bit of experimentation. I am going to dig it up, bring it into the house, and attempt to overwinter it. The petunias put on a very colorful fuchsia show, I’m also going to try to overwinter them; the zinnias were their usual beautiful self.

They attracted loads of hummingbirds that are always a delight to watch, as well as goldfinches that love to hang onto the branches, and painstakingly pull out the pedals, in order to get to those delicious fresh seeds. They’re so cute that I just let them. I’m already in the planning stages for next year.

What were your successes and failures this year?

I’ll see you in the spring for more garden talk.

Deck Garden Update for July

I thought I would give you a July update on the deck garden before I am completely overtaken by the plants. 

Seriously, there are mornings when I wake up and I expect the plants to be tapping on the window. I now have slightly less than one square yard of space in which to navigate among them; this is no exaggeration.

The heat has finally set in, so I am watering much more frequently, but everything is doing amazingly well. I tried a new type of tomato tower this year that is expandable, and I still find that my cherry tomatoes are outgrowing it.

If you’re interested in the expandable trellis, click here. I really like it, and of particular interest are the  clips that accompany this that allow you to clip up branches without damaging them.

I ended up buying 30 extra clips to use on all of my plants. You can see some of them in action on the photo of my green bean plant.

My first harvest was a green pepper, my second jalapeños.

I have lots of them on the plant, so need lots of recipes.

Another great producer are the cucumbers.

Those things are everywhere! As you can see from this picture, this bad boy decided to relax on the chair that I used to sit in when I could find it among the foliage.

I plan to harvest at both full-size and at pickle spear size to make pickles.

The Jasmine has doubled in size since I bought it, and it shooting out branches on all sides. Somehow the thought of de-tangling all of this at year’s end seems daunting. On the plus side, it does scent the garden with the most wonderful fragrance.

The string beans are doing well, and I’m able to harvest about one serving per day.

My large pot of herbs is doing wonderfully, and I find myself using much more of them because if the ready access.

The ginger is hanging in there. 

The X-rated pumpkin is growing well, and looking as though it is planning its escape!

The gourds are growing like mad, spilling over the side of the deck, and starting to threaten the Meyer Lemon tree on the patio below.

The Stella Dora Lily that I ripped up out of my mother’s garden is doing well, despite the fact that it can rarely be seen. I have found a spot in the front yard where I will move it in the fall. Mother’s hostas are similarly thriving, and will soon need transplanting.

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Deck Garden Update for June

It’s hard to believe that the last time I updated you on the deck garden was three weeks ago. Go back to this post and see the huge difference! Things have grown incredibly since I first began. We have been lucky in away because our summer has been rather mild thus far, and the rain, though not helping with the flooding, has certainly helped with the plants. I don’t think I have ever had as lush and healthy a container garden as I have this year.

I am going to give you a number of views of it; this one is from the lanai. If you take a look at this post when the deck was first built, you can see that I have an enclosed area where I spend a good bit of my time, and an open area for gardening. I find such comfort being around my plants, and when they grow like these have I feel like I’m in my own little private world.

I hesitated to grow petunias, because I know they tend to get leggy, but I have been doting on them, being sure to pluck off the spent flowers every day, and, thus far, it’s doing quite well.  I love that pop of bright color.

It always amazes me when I plant a seed is that it actually grows. I planted four Cathedral Bell seeds, and not only are they growing quite well, but beginning to attach themselves to the bottle tree. I cannot wait to see this plant flower.

My seeds for the “For mature audiences only” Elever pumpkins arrived from the Philippines, were planted, and are showing good growth. I cannot wait for this to bear fruit.

 I thought I would have a good time growing gourds this year, and they’re growing quite well. It was only after I planted them that I read the information on the back of the packet only to learn that they are only going to be 2 inches long. Well, they should work well at individual place settings come fall, but I’m sure I’m not sure what other good they’ll be.

The cucumbers are encroaching on my seating area, as are the green beans, undoubtedly they will need to be moved, but where? I am beginning to get the impression that I may have over planted. 

Basil is ready for pesto making, now that I have managed to ward off a rather substantial attack by the dreaded Japanese beetle.

The grill takes up quite a bit of real estate on the deck, and if I had another place to put it that was as convenient as it is now, I probably would. My dear dad gave me this grill and as I write this it’s Father’s Day, and let me tell you this is excruciating for me -- the first one without my dad. I’m laying low today and surrounding myself with my plants. They are comfort.

The Asian lilies that came back last year seem to be dying off, so I may use that pot for some sort of fruit or vegetable.

In the blue planter there is a Stella Dora Lily. I dug it up, As well as a couple of hostas when I put my parents house on the market. I just had to have something from their garden.

That’s the update for June. I’ll be back with another one in July. What successes are you having in your garden this year?

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The Deck Garden 2019

Continuing my tradition of spending $300 on supplies in order to yield $25 worth of fresh produce, I got my deck garden planted this week. I am awaiting the arrival of a trellis so that I can plant my gourds, but other than that, it seems to be finished. It was nice to have a normal day after so many months of upset.

Naturally, I will be adding to this in the next couple of weeks, during which time I also plan to buy plants for the covered portion of the deck (the lanai). I thought buying 12 40-pound sacks of potting soil would be enough, but it would appear not. So, back to the garden center I head midweek.

I decided to do something different this year. Instead of growing plants that I can easily buy at the grocery store relatively cheaply (carrots, radishes, scallions), I decided to grow a wider variety of tomatoes, including heirlooms, as well as green beans, and cauliflower.

I cut back on the number of herbs that I normally grow, because I found that they were taking up space and I wasn’t using them (fennel, dill, sage, thyme). I may change my mind when they all go on sale for 50% off at a pop-up garden place that I frequent, but other than that I am growing massive amounts of basil and parsley, because I use massive amounts of basil and parsley. I also have rosemary that I overwinter every year. 

My newest, perhaps most exciting addition, is ginger. I ordered it from Baker’s Heirloom Seeds in Manchester, MO, and, as it is suited for my region, I’m hoping for the best. I use a lot of ginger in Asian cooking, so I’m interested in having the freshest of the fresh.

 I’ve been watching British garden shows on BritBox, and so decided to add more flowers to the garden, so this year I am growing a beautiful multi-pedaled pink Morning Glory, as well as zinnias, petunias, impatiens, and purple Cathedral Bells. The latter is a first for me, and I’m hoping it produces. 

What I also learned from the British gardening shows (and what should have been obvious to me, but somehow wasn’t), is to LABEL the plants, and I did so with these wonderful Zinc Plant Markers that come with their own carbon pencil.

I also decided to have a bit of fun, and grow gourds. Believe it or not, this was the most difficult decision I had to make, because there are so many varieties available. I truly found some amazing things, including the "R"-rated Elever Pumpkin that resembles male genitalia. Don't believe me? Click here (but first, have the kids and grandma leave the room).

Unlike last year, I seriously hope to keep you updated on my deck garden throughout the summer. I feel very fortunate this year that May has been seasonal. Last year, we moved into May and it immediately hit 90° and stayed there until October.

What do you have growing?

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