garden dreaming
favorite varieties of summer veg, flowers + inspiration
Welcome to mama eats, a twice-weekly newsletter (Tues. & Sat.) inspired by a simple + seasonal home life. I’m a mother of three, avid reader, gardener, and home cook who focuses on nourishing, whole food meals with a focus on plants. This newsletter is my labor of love, and it means so much that you are here. If you are not already, and are able to do so, please consider becoming a subscriber to support my work here. This gives you access to all the archives and recipes (find the recipe index here), as well as cook-along videos which go along with most recipes.
Here we are in the depths of winter, surrounded by shades of brown and grey in the landscape. While winter is beautiful in its own right, in January I always indulge in daydreaming about the spring and summer garden. Do you do this, too? I’d love to know what your dreams for the garden are this year- whether yours is large or a few windowsill pots.
This year, I’m focusing my energy on growing only what I absolutely love. In years past, I’ve tried all kinds of things, and while it was fun, I am being more realistic about what we enjoy the most and how much time and energy I have to devote. That way I can enjoy my time in the garden the most!
The vegetables and flowers below will all be started by seed. Here’s a few favorite places to order seeds from:
zinnias and cosmos
these two flowers are so easy, bloom their hearts out all summer, are heat tolerant, last forever as a cut flower, and look beautiful in the garden. They come in all different colours and shapes. Here’s what I’m ordering for my seeds this season:
Double Dutch Rose Cosmos // Afternoon White Cosmos // Cupcake White, and Blush, Cosmos // Double Click Snow Puff Cosmos // Lemonade and Apricot Lemonade Cosmos // Isabellina Creamy Yellow Zinnia // Queeny Lemon Peach Zinnia // Benary’s Giant White Zinnia
tomatoes, zucchini, cucumbers, and green beans
My favorite vegetables in the summer garden, and always very productive. They are the vegetables which we eat the most of in summer, so it makes the most sense to grow them.
I like to support my tomatoes using the Florida Weave method, and grow my zucchini up an a-frame trellis. Here’s what I’ll be growing this year: