Gardening: an update

So we've been gardening for about 2 months now and things are finally starting to happen! Our garden isn't as awesome as my dad's but he's been doing this for at least 30 years. Plus he uses chemical fertilizer. I'm trying to NOT do that, but we shall see.

We wanted to get a shade structure... something that we could remove when necessary. Lowe's sells them but they are way above our budget so we searched for a DIY way.

The inspiration...

Making our own shade structure - pvc pipe, pcv pipe corners,
pvc pipe glue, quick ties, and burlap.

Lennox inspected; Lennox approved

M getting the frame together

Burlap across top to allow sun to come in, but reflect some heat

It was too windy outside to get a good completed shot so you'll have to wait until we actually use it. Its for the dog-days of summer, which in southern New Mexico come in May... so you won't have to wait too long.

As for the garden itself....

We bought tomato plants, and I installed a special DIY watering system
Old coke bottles so that we can water the roots without
the evaporation. They seem to like it....

The broccoli is going crazy.

Someone among us LOVES the broccoli. 

We have potatoes!!!

The herbs are doing great, and they taste fantastic

M cleaned out the boys' room and I got a storage area!

The pomegranates are blossoming. These are great for birds.
Keeps their mind off my garden. 

The lavender out front is kinda the same. I'm worried that they aren't growing. They are flowering like crazy though! Every time I rip a flower off, they put another one out.

Soon I'll be sowing sage and green beans. And in the fall we'll try another round of spinach and kale.

Oh! and I haven't killed my cilantro yet! WooHoo!

More Proof That I am Not a Botanist

Backyard Mystery Flower

The other day M and I noticed these gorgeous guys blooming in his backyard. I asked M what it was and he answered "a vinca"...  As this vinca was an unknown flower to me, I immediately took a photo so that I could look it up later on my awesome Audubon Flower app.

Cut to yesterday, I've got some downtime at work so I start my search for the mystery flower, inputting the info that I have.

         Color: purple and blue

         Habitat: urban and suburban

         Month: April

         Flower Shape: lobed (after some googling)

And what pops up?! As some of you may have guessed, a damned PERIWINKLE! (Latin Species vinca) Clearly, I am not a botanist.

Stay tuned for more - I'm sure to discover pansies, roses, and friggin' dandelions soon.

(ps - I bet the other Audubon Wildflower users were thrilled to see my periwinkle sighting.)