u/InfiniteLocal1623

I’ve wanted to grow gourds since I was a little kid - my mom’s friend gave us a dried gourd that was painted like a snowman and I immediately fell down the gourd rabbit hole!

Last year, I grew gourds for the first time - swan, corcican bowl, dipper, bottle/birdhouse, and luffa. Gourds are by far the most satisfying plant in my entire garden to grow! As the title states, I’m growing several varieties this year and many of the seeds I planted were my own!

Happy gardening!

Hello! Any idea what kind of peppers these are? They are fairly large compared to my other pepper varieties. Our neighbor, Rod, gave them to us but couldn’t remember the variety name so we affectionately named them “Rod’s Spicy Special”. This may not be relevant, but Rod owns the local pizza shop. Anyway, I’m hoping to get a real identification and appreciate your help!

I grew my first garden last year and absolutely fell in love! This year, I decided to expand my garden (it’s “officially” 35ft x 45ft if you ask my husband 🤣) and I added a solar chandelier as the centerpiece! It’s definitely “extra” and still a work in progress, but it makes me happy so I wanted to share. (Zone 6B)

Trigger Warning: Pediatric Terminal Diagnosis

A little background on our mantra, “Vertical Vines and Chaos” - We have a teenage daughter with a terminal diagnosis. Her health has been severely declining and in March 2025, she became completely wheelchair bound. As her mother, my mental health severely declined, so I started gardening as a way to cope, as it felt much healthier than drinking.

Our garden is designed to be fully accessible, where everything grows vertically so my daughter can drive her wheelchair through the garden and easily see and touch the plants. The walking paths are simply layers of cardboard covered by weed mat to help with accessibility! The lights are also important because we can enjoy the garden at night, when temperatures are cooler outside, instead of battling the blazing sun on hot summer days.

I just wanted to share a picture of my happy place, in hopes this inspires others. It’s still a work in progress, but if anyone is interested in updates throughout the season, let me know and I’d be happy to share.

🫶T