Potager & making old weed patches useful again

Here is a little corner of the potager with zucchini, potatoes, asparagus, beans & peas growing.  The large flowering plant in the back is celery from last year that has gone to seed - I'm going to try collecting and saving them even though they may be sterile.  They were from nursery starts last spring.  Even if they don't grow it was lovely to enjoy their seedheads in the garden while they lasted. I also have carrot seeds to save this year from last years remaining carrots - those will be good as they were from heirloom seeds to begin with.
Out of all my hobbies, potager gardening is by far my favorite!  I love the process of creating a beautiful garden that produces fresh delicious and nutritious produce to feed our family & friends.  It's so incredibly rewarding to eat what we have grown - even though I know I cannot take full credit.  It's up to the sun and the rain and the cycle of life that our creator so graciously lavishes upon the earth to sustain us and it! 
I also just planted a corn, bean & pumpkin patch in another garden area down by the pasture.  The corn was from starts (we got a late start) as we just finished preparing the ground - it used to be a weed patch after years of going to seed.  In order to make it useful again we cut the weeds down, layered old newspapers over the top, next I layered used chicken bedding and covered with black plastic.  We left the garden this way for about 3-4 months and then covered it with new top soil mixed with compost.  I have one more garden area that I am starting this same treatment on so that in the fall I can plant a cover crop and have it ready next spring hopefully. 
One of my goals with gardening is not spending much money on it.  We have chickens who provide fertilizer and straw to amend garden beds.  We also have lots of ashes from our wood stove, fireplace, barbecue & fire pit.  Another free amendment is used coffee grounds and tea leaves (I supplement by taking bags from Starbucks of their used coffee grounds since ours isn't enough).  Some of the neighbors save their newspapers for me too.  I'm learning to save seeds and I usually start most of the plants from seed directly into the garden.  It just doesn't make much sense to me to spend a lot of money on the garden since it doesn't take long before you could have bought all that produce much more cheaply!
My absolute favorite time of day is in the evening when the sun is starting to go down.  I wander down to the chicken coop to gather eggs, take food scraps & fill waters.  Then I make my way back up watering the gardens and checking to see how they grow.  It's quiet and peaceful and I feel alive and present in the moment.  I know, some garden experts say to water in the morning and sometimes I do but it's such a good way to wind down the day I can't stop myself! 
How does your garden grow?
Blessings,
Olivia

Sweet & Simple

This is the mood I am in right now - trying to simplify and keep life sweeter!  My window boxes this year reflect this pursuit.  When I went shopping for flowers with my mom at our favorite nursery she was wondering "are you really sure you don't want to add in at least one pop of color?"  She is the queen of container gardening & she really knows how to put together the wow factor (as seen above) but working with my minimalist color palette is a new one for her.  Last year I at least let her add in blue with the greens, whites & yellows!  This year I wanted to streamline even further!  My daughter wonders if next year I'll opt for even less color - white & green and leave out the yellow!  Who knows?
We finally found the yellow and brown pansies in the middle to give the contrast that makes it "pop".  Isn't it funny we were able to find a non-color for my craving and still complete the look!  Anyway,
this is what is going on around our house - decluttering, giving away, striving for simplicity!
What is going on around your house?
Olivia

Spring's Delights (in no particular order!)

1.  The way the sunlight comes in through the trees and dances on the new green leaves.
2.  Playing outside with the children all day long... catch, swings, batting, gardening, bikes and the park all in one long beautiful day!
3.  A winter garden becoming renewed with celery, artichokes, asparagus, carrots and one little lone beet that made it through our snow, ice & wind storms!
4.  Warmth - need I say more?
5.  The feeling at the end of the day that you worked so hard and have so much to show for it!
6.  Fruit trees in bloom!
7.  Projects on our home coming to completion!
8.  Gardening chores - can I call it a chore?  It's been so long since I've done any that it's all just fun!
9.  Our animals - kittens and dogs mainly frolicking in the yard around us while we play!
10.  Finding new baby birds in the same hole in the tire swing tree as last year - chirping away with their tiny mouths wide open!!