This year was my first year actually planning a garden – let’s see how it worked.

In April, this was my happy little plan. I was so organized! I had planted! The plants were co-operating!

Then one of the hottest summers on record said “HA!” about my plan. So did my summer work schedule and my husband’s herniated discs. So today, this is the best I’ve got:

Kind of chaotic (but typical given my life in general), but not too bad, given the circumstances. The sidewalk’s even been swept recently – a major achievement. Now let’s see what reading between the lines gets us:

That’s what I get for container gardening on concrete in 99 degree weather. Lots of water usage and scraggly tomatoes. Though the cucumbers are more than making up for the lack of tomatoes in sheer size.

So much for planning – as much as we’d like, it doesn’t seem to ever turn out the way we wanted it to. But the harvest is still possible in some ways, and the break in the weather this weekend has allowed me some valuable puttering time and reflection, and I don’t think I’ve done too badly so far.