My Green Thumb

When we were talking about moving and finding an apartment, I got really excited that we were going to have a patio. I was going to research all sorts of plant gardens and vertical or stacked gardening and it was going to be amazing.

Then we moved in. And I discovered that although it is nice to sit on the patio, it is not possible for plants to grow on it because the sunlight does not make it to the inside of the railing. So what do you do?! Hang pots over the side! It's perfect. It is even working out that because the plants are over the side, the rain waters them for me. Green thumb win.

Because were were able to start the plant plan so early this year, we started with seeds. There was a pack of Italian herbs (basil, parsley, thyme, oregano) and a pack of cilantro. I have three hanging pots. The one on the left is basil, the middle is cilantro, and the right is everything else.

We bought the seeds at the beginning of April. (I was really excited about it and did not want to miss out on getting to start from seeds.) Towards the end of April, I planted my pots. A weekish later, I got nervous. There were no plants. So I planted all of the rest of the seeds. :) As it turns out, it may have been too much. But they worked! The seeds worked! After thinning them the first time, I still counted 35 basil plants. Ooops! I thinned the other plants some too. The parsley was threatening to take over the thyme area, so I moved the thyme safely into it's own pot that sits on the railing. It is doing well. All of the plants are doing well!

It is amazing that you plant seeds. And then wait. And wait. And see. When the plants first started coming up, I was worried that maybe they were just weeds that had blown in. I got made fun of a bit for that idea. "ha, weeds that happen to all be the same, and are different in different pots." Nope, I have a green thumb! And planted a patio herb garden. Hooray!

How hard to wait on the seeds though. I wonder if the first rough was a dud or if I just got impatient. Then I planted all of the seeds. (perhaps too many but too many is better than none.) And then I was still nervous and had a plan to go buy plants to plant if they did not come up in a few weeks.

The situation is a fun one and probably a pretty good faith lesson. There are lots of things, happens, growth opportunities, and adventures that are very exciting. And they take a little bit of work upfront. And then there is waiting. It is hard not to jump ahead and worry in seasons of waiting. (waiting on God, circumstances, or new opportunities) Waiting is hard. Not being in control can be hard too. There is nothing that I can do to make sure that the seeds grew, just hope for the best and wait. And wait some more. And then tadah! Jack in the bean stalk style, I have basil galore!