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6/29/2026
Holy Moly. Sorry, I knew I wanted to make this post one focusing on some of the most noticable areas of garden growth...and then got blown away by the images as I gathered before & after pictures. Wow. Taking a moment to give some thanks....okay, let's go!
June has been a lot of manual labor and hours in the sun (which has added plenty of hours to our 1000 Hours Outside for 2026!) A little less adventuring, a lot more quiet time together at home, and a whole lot of building and progress on the garden. Right now, I've grown to referring to each bed by a number assigned from #1-6, with the first 4 up close to the house. What floored me? Looking at thes two shots - the first just after planting (6/10) and the second yesterday after some low-effort weeding. So much green and growth in just over 2 weeks!
Flowers
I really should do a whole post on just the flowers blooming.... But this sunflower brings me such joy to see every day! I planted 10 from seed, and 3 made it into the garden bed. This one was the largest, and is the first to bloom. It peeks up among all the green, and makes me smile without fail. I started dead-heading marigolds this year too and am already seeing the multiplication of blooms too! BUT there are also so many that are indicators of fruits and veggies to come! There was also a luffa flower that lives in my memory before it fell off, unpollinated I think.....
Veggies Are Coming!
Tomatoes, strawberries, and peppers I'm accustomed to from last year, and the tomatillo flowers aren't a stretch, but.... these zucchini flowers are so big and so beautiful! Seeing them come forth and open is AWESOME. The leaves are definitely larger than my head now, but it's just a clear visual of the growth happening from root to the top!
So many peppers are starting to grow, and already debate every day which ones to leave, and whether I should pull some of the early ones so the plant can push energy into growing bigger....a couple cherry tomatoes have already become snacks too!
This year's growth has also been personal. I'm not just in awe that my garden is -growing-, but that there's more growth than I realize. To see some of it, I have to look back to see where it started. I'd say that's also representative of me too! Looking back to last year, it's almost embarrassing to admit, but I would have Eli pop the canopy up and down to give daytime shade for us because it seemed overwhelming....and this year I'm popping it up and down on my own. I started the season with this vision of the garden, and really not sure of how I'd get all the infrastructure in, and have since found that I've done the shoveling to fill the beds and brick moving & laying with a lot of oomph, but immense joy too! Eli and his dad have helped with some hands on, no doubt, but I'm so proud of the work I've put in just by getting to it...and that growth in me to see what needs done and do it. Not only that, but I've gotten more into a routine of tackling the house care, miles ahead of where I was this time last year.
Comparison can ABSOLUTELY be a thief of joy if we let it. But sometimes when we compare our own efforts and stories present to past, it can be such an encouragement and reminder to keep going. Where I am definitely has taken work and effort and physical help too, but it also comes from a heart mindset and faith. Thankful for all of it, and grateful for a story worth living, and I am so excited to continue on to the next stages seeing the color in the garden and have hope for things to come!
With a Joyful Heart,
Crystal Smith; Red Letter Homestead
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