Okay, the following article is for all of the rookie gardeners or wanna-be gardeners out there. If I did it, you can do it! As I mentioned back in May, very few green plants have survived under my care in previous years. But I felt committed to making a difference in my food chain this year, and I figured that if I could successfully grow just a few vegetables and herbs in my backyard this summer, I could easily help the environment, eat more healthily and teach my daughter a few valuable lessons about food and nutrition.

When I turn the corner each morning to see our thriving vegetables, there are some days that I look like a kid in the candy shop! I practically did a cartwheel last week when I saw our first beautiful and bright green zucchini. It was small, but scrumptious and definitely worth the 60 day wait!

In mid-June, we decided to transplant our indoor herbs (basil, dill, chives) out to the garden, too. The basil was looking a little scary at the time of transplanting, but all three herbs are shooting up and looking prosperous. They are not quite ready to toss into pasta, but I am hoping a little more time and sunshine will bring those herbs to fruition in August.

Like any rookie gardeners, my husband and I did make a few mistakes with our garden. Clearly, we were overambitious with the carrots and broccoli (in the back of the garden). We used the entire seed packet and planted them on top of one another. Upon planting the initial seeds of these plants, I should have spaced them further out or created two rows. I will be thinning some of these plants over the next few days to make room for better growth. I will need to prune some of the tomato plants and eventually provide a better support structure for their heavy limbs.

But the most rewarding part? My daughter typically won't touch peas at our house - I have tried the sweet sugar snaps, frozen peas with butter and brown sugar, but she makes a melodramatic gagging sound! But guess what she did in the garden last week? She spotted a pod and asked if she could pull it off the plant and eat it! And of course, I let her. And check out the photo - she practically dove into to eat more pea pods and loved them! Suddenly, all of the hard work seemed worthwhile!

We have also been inviting our seven- and nine-year old neighbors to come over a couple times a week to check out the garden. They walk around, smell the herbs, look for blossoming plants and we have a small sample-size picnic with fresh peas, zucchinis and leaf lettuce.

Although we made a few small mistakes with our first year of gardening, it was a true success. And I encourage you to do the same!

Are you a first-time gardener this year? How does your garden look? Share your experiences with us!