When I decide to start a project, I can’t wait. I planted my garden in March last year, and it survived rain, hail, and even snow (yes, in coastal California!) But this year forces beyond my control conspired to keep me from planting my container garden until now.

I have resorted, after years of battling with shade and the neighborhood cats, to gardening in wine barrels. I started off pretty slow, and was just gaining momentum when a long winter took hold this year. Before I knew it, June had arrived.

Then our back patio was trashed by very nice roofers, who did an excellent job and cleaned up after themselves in time for the holiday. Now it is beastly hot, but I am finally ready to garden! And to give myself an extra challenge, instead of buying plants to get a head start, I bought seeds at 75% off.

So what will happen next? I planted the vegetable seeds after the sun set yesterday, and the soil, which I carefully cleared at 7:30 in the morning, was comfortably warm. Well, I’m going to find out. Stay tuned for the results of the “Great Post-Independence Day Garden Experiment”. It’s bound to be interesting, and hopefully edible!