Garden Envy

We returned Sunday from a five-day 4th of July "pre-vacation" at Mr. Patton's parents' house in Tennessee. It was a great weekend! We celebrated the holiday with family, played and lounged at the pool for three days, I caught up on my magazines and organized my Pinterest account. Yes; many priorities were taken care of :) But it was some much needed R&R.

I also spent a lot of time ogling my father-in-law's giant garden! As you may have read earlier in the season, we expanded our home garden this year, but I was still a little jealous. Check out these rows of tomatoes and giant squash plants!

When I took my morning run each day, I would pass by the garden on each lap and just stare. Like a garden stalker or something. I'm just so in awe! Especially since ours is lagging a wee bit behind. It seems to be a late bloomer. Literally. My in-laws live on over 50 acres of land, so of course they can afford the space that us city-dwellers can't. And Daddy Patton also spends a lot of time and hard work caring for this beautiful and bountiful garden; especially in the overwhelmingly hot weather we've been having in this area of the country. They already have picked boxes full of produce! And we got to reap the delicious rewards all weekend...fresh homegrown tomatoes, blackberry jam, pickles and cucumbers. Yuuummy!

Basil, jalapeños, parsley and rosemary on the deck.

So yes, I'm coming home from our relaxating mini-vacay with a bit of a case of garden envy.

Here's our progress at home so far:

Lots of green, but not many vegetables to pick yet! We have been able to use lots of fresh herbs so far from the plants on the deck. Here's our very first little harvest this year:

A few cherry tomatoes and jalapeños.

Even though I don't have my dream garden yet, it is in progress, my green thumb keeps getting greener, and I'm always picking up tips from a true master--and enjoying the fruits of his labor (and mine) year-round.

How does your garden grow? Send or post your pics!