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“You miss 100% of the shots you don't take.” Wayne Gretzky

When I agreed to blog about my gardening adventures (or misadventures), I wanted to keep things interesting. So I hope you enjoy the play-by-play of my hockey-themed garden.

Believe me, I wanted to create something grander (bubble hockey-like greenhouse) but my carpentry skills are greener than my gardening chops. So the penalty box, Zamboni® and giant scoreboard will just have to wait. For now, a garden that looks like a hockey rink is good enough.

The fine folks at Burpee Home Gardens were generous enough to send me two of each plant. That means I have enough for a Home and an Away team for you to cheer on. But they need names. So if you have ideas, let me know. Maybe we can work out some sort of prize for the winning names.

I quickly want to point out the starting line: Down at each end of my hockey garden I have Napa Grape Hybrid Tomato plants. These guys are my “goalies” and most likely my MVPs (Most Valuable Plants). I’ve only heard good things about them. I can’t wait to see how well they do.

Then there's Boxwood Basil, Sweet Italian Large Leaf Basil, 4th of July Tomatoes, Early Girl Tomatoes, Flavorburst Hybrid Peppers, and Hot Lemon Peppers. I just had an idea — trading cards for my plants. What a fun way for my kids to learn about each plant. See, this gardening thing is already adding value to my life.

So what’s the prize at the end of the season? The Schomber Salsa Cup. Not to be confused with the Stanley Cup. But I’m sure Lord Stanley would love my salsa. Yep, all this fuss is for the opportunity to cook up some homemade salsa. Wish me luck.

Next period

In my next post, I’ll show you what I did with all the sod I dug up, plus a few surprises.