Yesterday afternoon, while Ella napped, The Husband took Jack outside to play. I thought I'd take the opportunity to take some scraps out to the compost and pick up some sticks to add to it, as well.  While out there, I also knocked down craw-dad holes and stuck them on the pile. Jack helped with that task :).  Our backyard is FULL of weeds. Some are pretty. Many are ugly. Most just look like wheat or tall grass.  I was walking through our irritatingly-tall weeds, when I noticed something different hidden in the middle of a large patch of wild onions (which are so misleading in their potential to be something beautiful).  It had stalks that were similar to bamboo and skinny, long leaves similar to corn. It had very tiny bluiish-purple buds not quite yet ready to bloom.  I kept walking (we have a huge backyard) and looking for craw-dad holes, when I noticed the same kind of plant all by itself. This one didn't have any flowers or bloom...

My venture into gardening has finally begun... :)

Y'all, I'm feeling the itch.  It's more of a tick, really.  We've got this huge backyard (which really is not very pretty right now...I'm sure the overcast weather isn't helping my view), and I am itching, ticking, jonesing to start a garden. I love flowers, but I'd rather plant veggies and fruit.  The problem is that I have no idea where to begin.  None.  I've searched and searched on Pinterest, and there are tons of blog posts and articles about gardening, but I'm having trouble just getting started.  What do I do first?  When do I plant? What kind of  soil?  How much sun/shade? Where do I plant? Side of the yard? Back of the yard? Along the fence? Out in the middle? What do I plant? Cucumbers, definitely.  Bell peppers, most likely.  But, what else? What's your favorite, easily grown fruit/vegetable? What pests do I need to worry about?  I also need to keep in mind that I have two ...