We need photos.

Will post photos when I get the first tomato :)

That sounds so nice, Lucille.

“Gardening, to me, even on a small scale, nourishes the soul and beautifies one's surroundings.”

This is how I feel, too. My grandmother instilled in me a love of growing things from a young age. I’d follow her around, helping and learning. I did the same with my daughter and love seeing excited texts and photos of her gardens. :)

Can’t wait to see your pics!

Do you have room out there to sit and enjoy your efforts? Our weather has been so warm this month! I overwinter quite a few pots (mainly tropicals) and am thinking I can put them out next weekend.

Gardening is both my salve and my bane!

No pics until the first tomato? What a tease, Lucille!

Do you have room out there to sit and enjoy your efforts?

A small patio table and two chairs, I often sit out there with a cup of coffee or a cold water.

I just set up the grow bags for my cucumbers, the seeds were delivered yesterday. They are called Cool Customers and are only supposed to grow 18 inches tall.

What a tease

I think everyone will enjoy seeing veggies and more flowers, as much as I like the setup and what I've planted, it still is kind of bare until everything grows.. Plus maybe some decorations.

I ❤️ gardening!

Cannot wait to see your garden! I don't do vegetables, but I love gardening. I am a bit envious because I am having a lot of trouble keeping up with with my 1/2 acre by myself. Going with native perennials and shrubs these days. Would love to see your space even if it is not "close-up" ready.

Gardening is balm for the soul.

I've cut back on the beds, and have moved to more pots on the patio as well. Much easier to maintain. LOL!!

Lucille, what else besides cucumbers are you going plant?

A plain cement patio can be transformed by adding containers/a trellis/etc. @lucillle - please post photos later!

I've never grown vegetables (I do grow fresh basil every summer) - I LOVE home grown tomatoes! One of my sisters (who lives close to me) grows vegetables - she sends some over to my house every couple weeks +I make her a fresh floral arrangement each week out of cuttings from my garden.

I never did much gardening until three years ago. I would plant some annuals in the front landscaping beds + a couple pots on the deck. Everything else was perennials that I planted when I first moved in - and then just left alone.

I don't have a huge backyard - but it's landscaped nicely. We removed the deck and had a nice sized patio added - one part is covered, one section is open, and one section has a fire pit with a sitting wall around it.

Our landscape company actually uses photos from our backyard to show the patio he built + beds that he designed in the backyard (they also take care of our grass which always looks beautiful).

My SO had a large local nursery make several really nice large containers four years ago - they were BEAUTIFUL. I had no idea how much he spent until the next spring - and I decided that I could do it myself.

The first summer, the containers turned out better than I expected + I enjoyed taking care of them. However, I added several more pots/containers and hanging baskets. It looked amazing all the way until the end of October.

I have an issue with allowing plants to die - so, I try to save things for the next summer. It's a bit of work - and not enjoyable. It's nice when it's time to move everything back outside - saves a bit of time and money. This winter I've not been feeling great - so, next spring will be more work. However, I just love sitting out under the covered patio - especially after it's just rained (or is still sprinkling) - and reading a good book.

This was last summer - not as proud of these as the two previous summers (but it was easy to grab the photo):

I still don't know a lot - but I'm learning more each summer.

This next photo was after I went to the nursery in early September - and discovered how much I loved the colors of ornamental cabbage/kale - purchased quite a bit of new stuff in order to make some autumn containers (they lasted through December). Nothing has been taking out of the nursery containers - I just put them all in one space in order to take a photo to send to my daughters.

My oldest daughter thinks I'm crazy - however, she is more than happy to accept the containers that I make for her with all of my leftovers from the winter + a few new purchases. My love of plants/flowers has rubbed off on my younger daughter - we made some containers over at her house this past summer + her inside plant collection has grown from when I started her off with two indoor plants 1 1/2 years ago.

There are also some succulents that I purchased for inside - only the large container in the back actually stayed on top of the fire pit (was there all summer).

Gorgeous, dani!

pudgeder, I am also cutting back on beds and moving flowers, herbs, and vegatables to the patio. Much easier to water!

Lucille, what else besides cucumbers are you going plant?

Sweet pepper,eggplant,tomato, zucchini, wildflowers,roses,pothos,ferns, purple oxalis,a hanging rickrack cactus,and a hoya.

Dani your plants are amazing!

Lucille, have you got your rick rack cactus to bloom? I like to grow herbs, green onions, cherry tomatoes, cucumbers, and eggplant. They are the things that cost the most at the grocery and when I need a green onion, I only need one or two. I may try squash this year. I am the only one that eats it, but I love it.

No blooms so far. I love eggplant, I am growing the Ichiban for the first time, have never had one.

Lucille, I envy the fact that you have enough sun in your patio to grow vegetables.

Since moving into this small, shady lot near the beach, not only do I lack sun but also the necessary heat to grow vegetables and herbs. I did find one spot on the balcony that received more sun, and tried some cherry tomatoes in pots. They were growing well, and producing young fruits . . . which the squirrels took out in a single day.

So it’s shade plants in pots on the patio.

Since others are mentioning family traditions, my grandfather was the head gardener for this castle in Rivara, Italy before immigrating to Los Angeles.

[Not shown in this photo are the extensive grounds on the newer (relatively speaking) front of the castle.]

While poultry was the mainstay of his business here, he also had fruit trees and vegetables which supplied his roadside stand, along with fresh eggs. Of course, chickens, and turkeys in season.

My mother helped to raise the vegetables, and harvested fruits. As an adult, we had a garden plot for tomatoes and herbs for her mother’s ragu’. Plus lots of roses, camellias, sweet peas, various bulbs, and annual cutting flowers.

Nancy, critters and pests of all sizes can be the death of the desire to have any vegetables in a backyard. My veg garden looks like a prison with all the reinforcements we have to put around it to keep critters out.

However, I was going to recommend to Lucille that if she has a few open spaces among your foundation plantings, you can always put some herbs and tomatoes in the ground among your shrubs. I don’t know where you live or what zone, but there are several that will do well in part shade (chives, cilantro) and some love full sun (basil, tomatoes, fennel, cukes ). I hope your small space garden works well for you. In my view, some plants like to be in the ground more than in a pot, but that doesn’t mean you have limits in what you can grow. You have to be more diligent with watering and fertilizer because so many of the nutrients are washed away.

Nancy, a lovely patio, and what an interesting background you have!!