A Garden Bed Full of Surprises (and a Little Bit of Strategy)

Naava’s Nourishing Garden

This week, I spent some slow, grounding time in the garden. I didn’t film anything, but I still wanted to share what went into one of my beds—because even without the camera rolling, a whole lot of magic happened.

Yesterday’s Work: Weeding, Parsley, and Surprise Tomatoes

I started by giving the bed a deep, thorough weeding. It’s always amazing how quickly things can get overrun, but just as amazing to see the space come back to life once it’s cleared. After that, I planted out a few butterfly pea flower plants, grown from seed I saved in previous years. There’s something extra satisfying about saving your own seed and seeing it thrive again.

Right in the middle of the bed, I left a big parsley plant that reseeded itself from last year. It’s wild how resilient some plants are—it’s like they know exactly where they belong. I also tucked in a tomato seedling that sprouted out of a literal teaspoon of soil. I have no idea what kind it is, but I couldn’t bring myself to toss it.

In fact, most of the tomatoes I planted this season are a bit of a mystery. I didn’t label everything (again), so I’ll be playing the “surprise tomato” game for a while—except for a few I do know: my Barry’s Crazy Cherry tomatoes and a large cherry variety I’ve grown for a couple seasons now.

I added a few cheerful marigolds for pest protection and pops of color, and that wrapped up the first round.

Today’s Planting: Okra, Calendula, Tomatoes, and Basil

Today, I added between 16 and 18 okra seeds. The red okra is from Botanical Interests, and the green okra is from my own saved seed stock. I’ve been really intentional about seed-saving over the last couple of years, and okra always rewards me for it.

To go with them, I planted two calendula plants as a sort of understory layer. Since okra gets so tall, the calendula will eventually enjoy the filtered shade beneath their canopy—hopefully keeping the blooms coming through the hottest part of summer.

I also added two more tomato plants and one basil from Back to the Roots, a brand I’ve been enjoying lately for small edible garden additions. Basil always tucks in so nicely near tomatoes—it’s one of those classic companion plants that just makes sense.

Final Thoughts

This bed is shaping up to be a mix of intention, resilience, and a few good surprises. I’m excited to see how everything grows together—and I’ll be sure to grab some pictures and video for the next garden update.

Whether you’re planting out seedlings or just enjoying watching things sprout, I hope your garden is bringing you joy and a bit of peace this week.

Happy growing,

Naava

Mockup of What I planted I am aware that there is space to sprinkle a little bit more in and I do plan on doing that just for some extra razzle dazzle