Plan Z Diet: Garden Experiences

Garden Experiences

By: Zola
Chief Dieter
Plan Z Diet

In the 30-plus years that I’ve been gardening I’ve learned a lot about what I can handle and what I can’t. For instance, I quit planting vegetables and fruits decades ago. Seems odd for a food writer and creator of the Plan Z Diet, doesn’t it?

But here’s the story. Early on I planted strawberries. They surrounded my little pond and looked beautiful. I looked forward each day to being able to pick the riper ones. I planned to do it when I got home from work. Well, “somebody” beat me to it, day after day, after day.

I’d drive in my driveway and look up in the tree. There was a big, fat squirrel looking back at me, his faced stuffed with strawberries; the same strawberries I had planned to pick. As I waved my fist at him, he’d pop each individual strawberry out of this mouth, hold it in his little paws and munch on it. If squirrels could laugh…

The bunnies ate my lettuce.
The deer ate everything else.

I know, I was supposed to plant one of those gardens surrounded by fencing to keep the critters out of my veggies and fruits. But I was too focused on the aesthetic of my garden and I thought the fencing would look unsightly. I stopped planting fruit and veggies and decided to focus on my flowers, bushes and herbs. That worked for me.

Now I live at the Plan Z Diet headquarters in the big city. My first apartment had a deck on the 5th floor rooftop. I had to learn how to plant an elevated garden that could handle the breezes you get in Chicago up that high. At first I thought I had to plant sturdy plants. That didn’t work. Plants with large leaves would just whip in the wind and the leaves would get all crispy from flapping around. I had to learn to keep things low and more delicate. Seems counter-intuitive, but my garden thrived much better that way. I just had to make sure it got enough water. At 5 stories up, things really dry out fast.

In just a couple of weeks I’ll be planting my garden. This time I have a first floor courtyard. It’s protected by high walls, so I don’t have to worry at all about wind.

My courtyard also has an in-ground planting area so I can even have some perennials, like hastas. I don’t do a lot of perennials because I want to be able to change the color scheme and personality of my plantings each year. I also have some pots that will have cascading flowers. I love sitting out in my garden under the shade of a Bradford pear tree. Today the trees are blooming fragrant, puffy white clouds above my courtyard.

I’m going through the process of planning my garden right now. I’ll update you later on what I decide to do.

What are your favorite things to plant?
Do you plant veggies and fruits successfully?

Leave me a message in the comments section at the bottom of this article (below the recipe and related posts). Let’s get a conversation going and share some stories.

For This Week's Featured Recipe dish up my Plan Z Diet Cheesy Scallop Bake. This casserole will please anyone after a long day of work in the garden.