Salad in my tub.

So, the garden didn’t get finished.

I kind of saw it coming. Despite his confident promises, John’s ideas are pretty ambitious, and it’s not a one-man job. Right now, all we have is a somewhat level, sunny patch of earth, at the very top corner of our property. Happy wildflowers grow there. It’s going to take some work to transform it into a thriving, protected garden!

After talking through a few different options (sketched out on graph paper- adorable), we settled on a plan: two deep raised planter boxes, each with a screened, roof-like structure to keep out the multiple backyard critters. They’ll be on hinges for easy access, and we can snap on some kind of plexi-glass layer that will kind of act as a greenhouse to keep our plant babies warm. Luckily, I’m a good supervisor helper and our friend, Chris, was willing to contribute his power saw and know-how.

First up: a trip to Home Depot for supplies. We selected redwood planks in multiple lengths and widths, plus all of the screws, hinges, and hardware. The shopping list was intimidating, but getting the lumber home safely was the big accomplishment of the day!

In the morning, I left the boys with their measuring tape and power tools and headed off to find things to plant. It was my first visit to Park City Nursery, and I was enchanted. I wandered around the gravel path, lined with vibrant plants and blooming blossoms, before remembering I had a “buy this” list. I found almost everything on it, and toted my sweet future garden back home.

The boys had made progress. The planter boxes were coming to life! I transferred all of the veggies and herbs to the hot tub, where they could hang out in the shade until it was time to plant them in their new home. I left the boys to it, did some weeding, and made a pie.

Toward the end of Monday, it was clear that I wouldn’t be getting the new plants in the ground just yet. The cover part of the boxes took longer to figure out than anticipated, but you can envision the finished product.

Screens doors will be attached, and the tall triangles will be turned the other way into one long pitched roof over the plants. John and I headed down the street for a block party to end the holiday weekend. (Side: taco carts rule.)

As the work week began, the project sat in the garage, waiting for pockets of time to appear so it could be worked on (there weren’t any). Then, the weather turned from THIS:

To THIS:

I kept my eye on the temperature, thinking of my fragile plant babies on the hot tub. Then the wind started to blow and hailstones hit the window. I sprinted in and out of the house in my pajamas, transferring the plants into the only place I could think of: our bathtub.

And there they sit, happily soaking up bits of sunlight through the clouds. It’s convenient to water them and even kind of steamy in there. Though it’s rainy this morning, the storm will subside by the weekend. Hopefully, my handy man will be able to finish the beautiful garden project and our yummy home grown herbs and veggies will love their new home.

Until then, I guess I’m using the shower.

**Stay tuned for more garden progress next week!**