The Outlaw Garden is a front yard vegetable garden in an HOA-controlled community that doesn't allow front yard vegetable gardens. Because, when it comes to choosing between homegrown tomatoes and following the rules, the choice is obvious: Break the rules.
Like the garden itself, I’m planning a soon-to-come expansion for the Outlaw Garden blog.
Because, really, springtime is generally a slow season for gardeners… What I really need now is a new project. Something to keep me busy, since the garden isn’t really demanding much time these days. </sarcasm>
I’ve got a couple ideas for expanding the blog, but I’m most excited about adding a resources section.
So… Information about growing crops (like that sweet potato post that so many people on Pinterest seem to like). Book and product reviews. Recommendations for seed catalogs and nurseries. And, since the whole idea here is to grow a vegetable garden even where we’re not supposed to be growing vegetable gardens, I’ll include some tips on disguising your edibles as ornamentals, and possibly some lists of easy-to-hide / damned-attractive veggies.
But, that’s just want I’m thinking.
What’s more important is this: What do YOU want?
Are you craving some killer book reviews? Yearning for lists of attractive and easy-to-hide veggies? Hungering for taste-bud-pleasing recipes for the harvest? Whatever it is, just let me know by leaving a comment below.
Thanks!!
Grow your own sweet potatoes 
Your sweet potato questions: Answered! 
What do you want to know about sweet potatoes? 
Sweet potatoes!! 
10 rules for growing vegetables in the front yard 
Sunchokes from store-bought tubers? Hopefully! 
It’s time to harvest sweet potatoes!! 
6 vegetables that are super easy to hide from the HOA 
Weekly garden stroll #11 
Garden stroll #12: Midsummer doldrums 
Baby praying mantis invasion! 
Earth Day, monarchs and the little things 
Garden stroll #16: More snow!!?? Good grief. 
Garden stroll #15: Snow!? 
E-books and experiments 
Here comes spring! 
2013 Warrenton Seed Swap 
It’s time to plant some … birdhouses!? 
Home-grown vs. store-bought: sweet potatoes! 
{ 3 comments… read them below or add one }
Hi Cristina. I just came across your blog thanks to, unsurprisingly, Pinterest. After reading through it, I was very excited to hear that you are in VA. I, too, live in VA down in Richmond. I just moved to a new downtown apartment with a huge balcony/deck. I’m starting my own container garden, or I’m at least trying to. I’m also thinking about starting a blog to share my trials and tribulations. What I find the most difficult about attempting to garden is where to look for information. I’m a newbie to this and often find myself wondering about the basics (i.e., what size containers for certain plants, how many plants per pot, what time of year to start planting, etc.). I’d love to see you post more resources like this on your blog, since it is obvious that you are very knowledgeable about gardening. The other tidbits of information you mentioned above would all be appreciated by the aspiring gardener. Thanks again!
Hi Cristina:
I’ve been reading your blog for about a month now and am really enjoying the inspiration and photos. I would love information on your successes in developing whole areas of lawn. Often, you have beautiful photos that close up some exqusite moment in your garden, which I love, but I hunger for the macro perspective as well, as I hope it will give ME inspiration form my big-picture planning.
Additionally, help with timing and succession would be GREAT! How do you keep those veggie supermodels looking beautiful all summer? When do you rip out and how do you cope with the “adolescent” garden phases? I’m currently surrounded by garden adolescence and would love a pep talk
Thanks for asking! I am currently elbows deep in a new front garden project. What I’d most like to see are recipes/ideas for using some of the uncommon vegetables and herbs, like Salsify &/or Dandilion in the kitchen.
I opted to leave a selection of pre-existing “weeds”, like Heal-all and Dandilion, as ground covers in my garden beds. The Dandilions hug the ground tightly, require no supplemental water even in my semi-arid climate, and reward all summer long with bright yellow blossoms beneath my Blueberry bushes on the West end of the garden. The Heal-all is splendid for it’s abundant purple blossoms and low growing, textural leaves with burgundy stems. In fact, the Heal-all bloomed non-stop all winter and is still going strong! Both are very east to start from seed and transplant well, so I can move volunteers to more appropriate spots and encourage them to fill in around seasonal veggies. (yes, I have been transplanting Dandilions LOL)
My first experience with Salsify was a surprise! I found this lovely flowering edible in a bed I was weeding. At first it looked like a hearty clump of grass, but upon closer inspection I noticed a couple of buds which, as it turns out, only open in the mornings and close up tightly before noon each day. These flowers (purple in my case) are followed by a 3″ Dandilion like seed ball. It took me weeks to accurately identify the mystery plant as Salsify, which happens to have an edible root.
Now I have a host of naturalized and wild weedlings to experiment with, not just in the garden, but in the kitchen as well. It would be splendid to find tips and tricks for using todays underutilized edibles, those which have fallen from favor or were forgotten somewhere along the way. Of course I realize that the weeds and veggies in VA may vary from those in other states, but I expect that we will also have several species in common.
Encouraging beautiful edible weeds was easy & fun! Knowing what to do with them in the kitchen can be a little more challenging. I would absolutely LOVE to find creative tips for utilizing these little gifts of nature to nurture ourselves.
Thanks Christina, & I really dig your Outlaw Garden blog(s)!
JJ