My Kitchen Garden

This is why I have been neglecting my blog: the garden.
My dad built these defined beds for me (I wanted to do this last year, but I guess I had to struggle through my first year of vegetable gardening without defined beds to prove that I was serious about it - probably a good idea, because this project was a lot of work!). I love this layout because it allows me to access each bed from both sides. It should be better for the plants, since I'm not compacting the soil by walking in the beds. Plus, I can easily keep certain groups of plants together (companion planting) or away from each other - and I can make adjustments to the soil for specific plants (which will be especially good for blueberries).
As you can see, I still have lots of work to do - more planting, more mulching, and (unfortunately) some weeding. I was pretty exhausted when I took these pictures, so they aren't the best, but hopefully will give you some idea of how the garden is set up. I'm probably forgetting a couple of things, but here is what I have planted so far:

Tomatoes (more than 30 plants [yes, I am crazy] - all heirloom):
Abe Lincoln
Big Rainbow Stripe
Brandywine
Cherokee Purple
Mr. Stripey
Old German
Radiator Charlie (Mortgage Lifter)
Red Cherry
San Marzano

Vegetables:
8-Ball Zucchini
Acorn Squash
Arugula
Brussels Sprouts
Butternut Squash
Cucumbers
Mesclun Mix
Ruby Swiss Chard
Spinach
Sugar Loaf Delicata Squash
Sweet Bell Peppers (red, yellow, green, orange)
Sweet Potatoes

Herbs:
Basil (Sweet and Thai varieties)
Lavender
Lime Mint
Parsley
Pineapple Sage
Rosemary
Sage
Texas Tarragon
Thyme (regular and lemon varieties)

Plants in the permanent bed:
Asparagus
Blueberries
Raspberries
Strawberries

Flowers (mostly for companion planting purposes, except the zinnias):
Geraniums
Marigolds
Nasturtiums
Zinnias

If you can believe it, I still have more things to plant - and some I wanted to plant but missed the opportunity because it got too late in the spring. If all goes well (and if I get enough tomato cages), I hope to have a "tomato festival" party in the late summer. Wish me luck!