Hello! Today I’m headed to Atlanta for the Haven Conference. If you’re attending, I’d love to meet you. I don’t go to as many conferences these days—I’m a bit of a homebody—but every other year I try to attend one, so this is the year.
Some time ago a reader asked what my container garden looks like. I’ve meant to write a full post about it for a while but kept putting it off, waiting for a “perfect” moment. Lately I’ve been thinking about what counts as a proper post. I don’t mind showing unfinished or in-between stages—I do that often—but I sometimes imagine a post should be polished and photo-ready before I share it. That expectation can postpone things indefinitely.
This tendency toward perfectionism applies beyond blogging: we often delay projects because we tell ourselves we’ll do them “when there’s more time.” The result is that many good ideas never get done.
I pictured an ideal post: a full tour of a pristine yard with perfectly staged planter boxes, lush vegetables, and detailed planting instructions—something magazine-ready. That would be lovely, but it’s not realistic for every post, and I’m definitely not Martha Stewart.
So here’s what our container garden looked like when I first planted the pots. I planned to build large planter boxes but decided instead to use the food-safe half barrels we already had. They were easy to repurpose and worked wonderfully for tomatoes, peppers, and lettuce.
I’m so glad we planted when we did—already we’ve been enjoying fresh, healthy lettuce and kale for weeks, and tomatoes and peppers are on the way.
I took these photos with my phone to text my mom when we first planted. The plants were still tiny, so the images weren’t intended for a polished blog feature—just a quick snapshot to share progress.
When the reader asked about the container garden, I wondered whether she expected a Pinterest-perfect gallery or simply wanted to see the pots and hear about the process. Either way, I realized I was overcomplicating things. If these photos were useful to my mom, they would be useful to you too.
Although I plan to share more yard updates this summer, these images give you a clear sense of the container garden early on, so you can visualize how it develops over the season.
Container gardens are a great option when space is limited or when a project feels more complicated than you have time for. Using barrels, pots, or other containers lets you grow vegetables without building beds or committing to a large landscape project.
We chose organic plants and soil to ensure what we grow for our family is as healthy as possible. It’s rewarding to prepare meals with ingredients from our own small garden.
Finally, thank you so much for voting for our rug designs—you’re amazing. The competition ends Thursday. As I write this, the striped rug with the cross trim is in the top ten but needs more votes to stay there. The starburst design is just outside the top ten but close enough that a few more votes could push it in. Voting is simple: a click and a heart. If you can ask a few friends to help, we’d be so grateful. The top ten designs will be produced next year, so making the list would be a huge dream come true. Thank you, friends!