“I’m not really a career person. I’m a gardener, basically.”– George Harrison

Well, I wouldn’t exactly say I’m a gardener yet. Truth is, I’ve never really had a green thumb. In fact, once when I planted a tomato plant at the house I was living at I forgot to water it (the whole time) and although it still grew and produces tasty bright red tomatoes, I had little to do with it. I remember growing up and watching my mom work in the yard and dreamed of the day that I would have one to call my own so I too could try my hand at being a gardener. Slowly but surely, I do believe my thumb is turning a little greener every day.

Sunday David and I went back to the nursery with the goal of getting flowers for a couple of pots we have on the deck. As you can see from the picture we ended up leaving with a whole cab full of fun things to play with.

We ended up replanting the hedge along the walkway up to the front door with Dwarf Boxwoods. I remember my mom planted these along our walkway at our house growing up and I loved the way they looked, especially because my mom kept them nice and pruned . I remember they grew to be really tall. Mental note: remember to prune.

The may look small but these grow to be quite tall if you let them

We bought three hanging plants because well, to be honest, when I looked at our two carts full of flowers I became a little overwhelmed and decided it was best to just buy them ‘pre-made’. There is always next year after all.

I’ve learned several things from the last week and a half of planting, gardening, and watching our work grow. The first being that I really do not know much about gardening but thanks to the internet, I am learning a little more each day. It’s a romantic idea to think that all the knowledge I need is right there within me but reality is, it’s actually right inside our house in that big information highway called the internet. Google, excuse me, Bing has been used a lot this week. I’ve also finally been able to remember the difference between an annual and a perennial and as intuitive or obvious as it may be to some, for me annual would come back every year and perennial would die back at the end of the season. That is not the case though. You’ve been warned. And last, even though there are moments I wonder if I really have it in me to be a green thumb master, when I went out to our garden the other morning and saw the little bits of green poking through the soil that will soon be carrots and beets, I realized that I do. I definitely have it in me.

Sunday, David and I went to Al’s Nursery over in Sherwood where we purchased about twenty-five different vegetable, fruit and herb starts for our garden(s). David and his cousin Joel had built two 3×15 foot raised beds the previous weekend and we were excited to finally be able to plant. Next to these beds sits an old ground bed that he had used the previous year  and we’d use for overflow. On our deck sits 4 barrel flower beds and a beautiful old cart of some sorts that we decided to drill holes in, lay down mesh, and create a lettuce and herb bed with it. Since we didn’t really have much of a spring to plant and the drastic weather conditions of going from cold to several 75-80 degree days over the last week, we weren’t too sure on exactly what to plant. So, we decided to try pretty much everything.

Three of the barrel

Our raised bed gardens and the overflow garden to the left

One of the many things I love about David is our mutual love of food and our dream of one day being sustainable from the farm. We love spending hours in the kitchen together altering recipes to fit our personal taste buds. For instance, last night we made gluten-free pizzas that actually tasted wonderful. Since I try to eat mostly gluten-free, David has been eating a lot of quinoa pasta and other various gluten-free options. Together, we keep each other balanced with our love of all things food related and we are excited for the abundance and variety that will be coming out of our garden(s). And for those of you who will be visiting over the course of the summer, fully expect to leave with your share.

I feel really lucky to get to learn about all the vegetable, fruit, and herb varieties and watch as my efforts come into fruition. Getting my hands dirty harvesting my own food sources and feeding my body nutritious items that I know exactly where they came from is something I’ve always dreamed of doing.

Our lettuce

I recently moved to the picturesque hillside of the Ribbon Ridge AVA which lies in the heart of the Willamette Valley of Oregon. I moved here to start a life with my love and in doing so, have left my city home of Seattle for one full of (as the title states), Bullfrogs and Bulldogs among a plethora of other new and exciting changes. I now live on 50 acres of the most beautiful piece of property you just may ever see. Grateful hardly even comes close to how I feel right now. Twenty-six of these acres consist of the family vineyard which is in its 3rd year. They will be producing wine from their own vineyard this fall. The picture below, as beautiful as  it is, still doesn’t even do it justice. To put it simply, this place is magical. But, as I am quickly finding out, all things this beautiful require a lot of blood, sweat, and the occasional tear (yes, I’ve had my moment of tears). So what have I learn thus far? I have composed a list some of my biggest lessons thus far.

View from our bedroom window overlooking the backyard

Number One:  You have to learn quickly when to call it a day. Your to do list really is never-ending and accepting this fact alone will save you many sleepless nights and 12 hour days.

Number Two: Dirt and dust is just a part of life in the country. No matter how many times I sweep or dust, it’s guaranteed that the floors, tables, bookshelves, etc will have a nice thin layer again by the end of the day.

Number Three:  Make sure you get everything you need when in town. Running to the store ‘real quick’ just doesn’t really exist anymore. Write you list on your phone because it’s inevitable that you will forget your hand written one on the dinning room table every time you leave to run errands.

Number Four:  TOMS and Chucks really just aren’t suitable for country life. You never know what you’ll step in so I have now resorted to only wearing my muck boots around the property. Hey, muck boots and shorts could become the next fashion statement!

Number Five:  Seven day work weeks are not a rarity. They are the norm. Yet, when you love what you are doing it seems to be pretty okay.

Number Six:  Animals aren’t ‘little’ people as I’ve been lead to believe. They are animals and in many cases on a farm,  food. (Still adjusting to this one). Those cute little chickens that I want to raise will become dinner eventually.

Number Seven:  ”Working out” has a complete new meaning. It’s no longer easy to ‘run’ to the gym real quick. Instead, I’m running around the vineyard and up and down 4 flights of stairs 30 times a day. Yet again, I just don’t seem to mind all that much. It’s far more gratifying to walk the 26 acre vineyard at the end of the day with my love and the pups then to sweat on a treadmill. I have gone running through the neighborhood or in other words, the road that runs along the other vineyards on the ridge. Not too shabby I must say.

and last….

Number Eight: I haven’t been happier in all my life. It’s a blessing that I have been so lucky to find the man of my dreams and that he happened to come with the life of my dreams. I’ve been counting my blessings every single day.

So there you go. In the short week and a half I’ve lived here I have already learned so much. This blog is an outlet for me to journal my experiences, what I learn, how I grow, what I create and it’s also an opportunity for all of you to learn and grow as well. I look forward to the journey.