You win some, you lose some! That is my lesson from the backyard this summer.

The Not So Good – The Backyard Failures

I had the best intentions – to create the ultimate space in which our toddler could run free. To some degree, we have achieved that. After all, I discovered that toddlers don’t particularly care about adequate lawn coverage. They do, however, like to be outside, whatever the condition of the lawn. I have also discovered that toddlers can be particularly fond of sprinklers… who knew?

As for me, I really wanted to have a perfect lawn. I’m not sure exactly why, especially as the toddler really doesn’t care. I think it’s probably the kind of thing that adults are supposed to care about, therefore I should probably care too.

The Raging Successes

While the grass may not be perfect yet (I haven’t given up on my Pintrest-worthy lawn), the rest of the backyard is looking pretty great!

We have lost a few herbs here and there, but that is to be expected. Overall I am very happy with the quantities of fresh herbs and lettuce that we have been able to produce this summer.

There’s Still Time

One of the more interesting stories from the backyard this summer has been the tomato plants. I purchased three of them, in the hope that we would be rolling in delicious fresh tomatoes all summer long (they would be great with the basil!).

Initially, things were not looking good. A mysterious fungus looked like it was determined to take over the entire garden bed. We quickly lost two of the new tomato plants as the fungus took over. However, just when I assumed all was lost, the fungus disappeared. As quickly as it had come, it just went away.

The one remaining tomato plant looked a bit sad and sorry for a while, but eventually it began to grow again. Now, all of a sudden, it has really taken off. Much to my surprise, it even has some small tomatoes growing on it! I discovered these little beauties while I was outside playing with the Panasonic TZ110 that I have been sent for review.

Hopefully they last. I am not getting too attached yet. Tomato plants (in fact all plants) have a long history of catastrophic failure at my house, just when they look like they are going well.