Week 6 & Week 7 Challenge: Clean the Yard and Plant a Garden

I have always dreamed of having a beautiful vegetable garden full of all kinds of lovely fresh vegetables I could use to make healthy, delicious dishes.  Unfortunately, despite having a wonderful garden box built in to my backyard, I can't seem to grow a single vegetable.  I know this because I've been trying to grow them for years.  The main problem seems to be a lack of sunlight.  I also have a beautiful large tree that shades my entire yard; wonderful for sitting but terrible for growing most things.  In addition to blocking the sunlight, this tree also sheds a ridiculous amount of leaves that I have to get rid of every spring.  I am determined to have some kind of garden this year, and I have a new strategy for planting.  Because I know the enormity of this task, I'm giving myself two weeks to complete it.  Here's my starting point...a giant mess of leaves, sticks, dirty swing covers, and flower pots. 

The plan is to use my fabulous leaf blower/grinder to grind up all those leaves, hose down the swing cover, and plant things in my built-in box and random pots.  I started on the leaves today, but due to a rain shower earlier this week, some of them are wet and can't be grinded yet.  So I just spent some time today getting them all in the middle of the yard and organizing the pots.  See below for a slightly better version of the yard with the pots lined up and ready for planting.

Next up is leaf grinding on Tuesday.  On Friday, I'll go plant shopping.  My new strategy is to plant the built-in box with wildflowers and leave them alone.  The pots will get a selection of herbs and flowers.  I'm also going to attempt tomatoes, green peppers, and jalapenos (the one thing I have been able to grow year after year) in pots that I can move around to get the best sunlight.  I'll spend Saturday planting, and then hopefully enjoy the new look of my yard on Sunday.  Wish me luck!