We're in year 3 (or maybe 4?) of having a backyard garden. At first, I thought this little project was sure to fail. My parents are both incredible gardeners and I've always benefited from their tremendously productive plots. However, I kill plants out of complete neglect on a regular basis. Apparently, they don't appreciate my suggestion that they fend for themselves.
Anyway, this was my husband's idea and he really does all of the heavy lifting in terms of getting it planned and planted. When it is producing, I wander out around 4pm each day, pick something for dinner, and feel at one with the earth-- without really expending any effort at all. It's a pretty good arrangement.
In addition to fresh veggies in the season, we feel like it creates a good learning experience for our kids. This year, Marin started seeds in her kindergarten class and was proud to add them to mix of plants.
We're still figuring out the exact right mix of what we like and what does well. We're also figuring out how to better balance starting plants from seeds (way cheaper) or starting plants we buy at a premium from our local nursery. The latter is obviously easier-- and in our house easy often wins out. At the moment, we have a combination of early season "crops" including lettuce, kale, and spinach. Brian has peppers and tomatoes (sprouting in every muffin tin I own) that are still hanging out inside.
I'm looking forward to seeing what we get this year. I love when our tomatoes and peppers are going crazy and will have lots of herbs to add to salads and sauces. I also like being able to pick greens and add them directly to a salad or smoothie. Clearly, my interest is on the consumption side versus the production side.
Do you have a garden? What do you most enjoy about it?