Garden Planted

We did it, finally! Seeds are all in the ground. I didn't bother starting the seeds early indoors (we're trying to look normal, after all). I also didn't bother trying to plant enough to feed my family a whole year. Funny thing about that, y'know? Once I released myself from the pressure to grow all my own produce (actually, the guilt of NOT growing it), it became a much more manageable task. Even though the following list looks daunting, I did go easy on myself:

Grape tomatoes (NONE for canning)
Peas (shelling variety, only planted enough for fresh eating fun)
Cilantro (volunteers from earlier years)
Pole beans (forgot to buy bush beans instead. Oh well.)
Swiss chard (growing it for pretty, not food. If we eat some, great!)
Red leaf lettuce (again, mostly for pretty, some eating)
Sweet corn (looks fun even if the ears don't fill out properly)
Eggplant (great for periodic baba ganoush or ratatouille)
English cucumbers (seedless, long and skinny)
Marigolds (protective flower that may keep cucumber beetles away)
Dwarf sunflowers (pretty, attract birds)

Why am I growing flowers all of a sudden? Because they happen to serve a purpose in my life this year (and maybe, just maybe, I'm realizing that I kinda like the way some flowers look, maybe). The marigolds are great companion plants and the sunflowers will be fun for Alice to pick. Our neighbor helped us relandscape our front garden beds last fall and it looks like everything is growing beautifully! I can't wait for those purple cone flowers...I've been in love with them since I saw them on the restored prairie our first summer in Illinois. Shirley, our neighbor, also gave us a few bleeding hearts, which I find curiously cool. And then there are those red dahlias I saw growing in my friend's garden...swoon! I'll have to look for those at the garden store this week.