First, let me say that I have been ready for Fall since, umm, May. . . and I’ve been REALLY fighting the urge to put out my Fall pumpkins – I have many – and decorate our house for some days now.
(My goal at this point is to make it to my first day of classes; therefore, it will be Fall semester – then it’s on I say. 😉 )
This isn’t a story about my pumpkin decorating though. Rather, it’s a tale of a new plant lady’s pumpkin misadventure/science experiment/valuable life lesson I’m going to share with you. . .
As I’ve shared before, over the past couple of years, I found that I adore plants and growing things and our home came to be filled with all sorts of flowers and succulents and cacti and nifty green things. As I learned more, my planting expanded onto our front porch as well.
One thing I did – just kind of as an afterthought for fun – was to dig out all of the little planting kits I had bought and never used from Target’s Dollar Spot over the years and plant them.
One of those was a fantastic little tin that was called a pizza kit with basil and tomato seeds. I have since separated them as they grew and I have a large tomato plant and some beautiful basil from it – so it was a success for sure.
However. . . hehe. . . another one was the tiniest little pumpkin seedling set that I bought for a dollar – and didn’t really think through to its logical conclusion when I planted it so enthusiastically. . .
Of course, anyone with half a brain knows that pumpkins grow on large vines. . . like at the pumpkin patch. . .
(I suppose Target sells these mini $1 sets expecting them to either end up in a drawer like mine did before I went total plant lady or for the purchaser to not be successful in growing them. . . that’s not exactly what happened here. . . 🙂 )
Not long after I planted my pumpkin seeds, having not used my half of a brain to consider what would happen when they grew, I needed to transfer them to something larger – so Sara and I went to Walmart and bought a large – LARGE – nifty pot and moved them.
It lives on the right side of our porch if you are facing the Hippie Hut.
Around the same time, Sara wanted a singular cucumber plant – in a pot – and it is on the bricks at the base of the right side of the porch. . . oh yes, this is soon to be relevant. . .
As an enthusiastic – but completely clueless at the time – new crazy plant lady, oh have I created a gardening experiment to remember with this one as I now have both pumpkin and cucumber vines growing up the azalea bushes in our flower beds.
It’s really something and I have to laugh at myself – but it’s so nifty to watch and I certainly won’t do it again so I’m not ready to cut them yet. Bahahaha. 🙂
Eventually these will have to be reined in, I know – and I am so blessed that my husband abides my happy hippie self planting along as I’m pretty sure he didn’t have “Miranda grows a jungle in the flower bed” on his 2022 Bingo Card.
Seriously, my family is wonderful and so supportive of my plant lady life – even when it’s strange and also manages to eat the azaleas temporarily. ❤
For sure, next year’s planting involves box gardening and heirloom miniature veggies as well as my herbs that are thriving. It will be well planned out and organized and I am super stoked for it. Still, as I am new to plants and have learned so much over the past year, I have to say that this has been so much fun – even the gardening as a fire drill approach with pumpkins and cucumbers (hehe) – and I’m so grateful for this beautiful life of mine.
As for what we’ll end up with this year from the Franken-Vines?
Who’s to say.
I’ll keep y’all posted. 😉
Be well, everybody. Take care of yourselves and each other.
Grace and Blessings.
the autoimmune hippie. 