This is a sponsored conversation written by me on behalf of Snapple®. The opinions and text are all mine. #Takes2toMangoTea #Walmart
I’m so excited about growing my own food this year. Last year, we had our very first edible garden, and planted a few things like tomatoes and peppers, and had so much fun with it. But, it was just a test year. We planted a bit too late in the season - early summer was way too late to be able to give the plants enough time for their full growing cycle. It took a year of trial gardening to know what we will and won’t eat, and we now know what’s going to grow and what isn’t worth the time.
It takes a fair amount of time and effort to plan your garden, but whether you’re a first-time gardener, or someone who has gardened for many years, a container garden, filled with edible herbs and flowers, is a great place to start for the season.
It’s also a good idea to stay hydrated and energized while preparing your garden, so while I was shopping for gardening supplies and plants, I also picked up some of this delicious new Snapple tea flavor – the Snapple® Takes 2 to Mango™ Tea. It’s super tasty, perfectly balanced in flavor, and makes me so excited for summer, that I can literally taste it. What a good way to get a bit of extra energy, and hydrate yourself during and after gardening.
This is a post I have been wanting to create for a few months now, and I am so glad that spring is almost upon us, and it’s time to start planting in some areas of the country. I figured that I would show you wonderful readers a fresh recipe idea, and my beautiful, new planter garden – a first of many planters for the year.
I picked up all my supplies at Walmart, where I found the Snapple Mango Tea single bottles in their tea aisle, and everything else in their gardening department. I wound up grabbing my tea, gardening gloves and a small gardening trowel (shovel) – each for $1.00 or less!
I also found this cute, lime green planter, potting mix (soil), and for plants, I chose mint, basil, this gorgeous decorative kale (the purple plant that looks like cabbage), and some marigolds, which are apparently edible – all under $5.00 each.
I love setting up all of my supplies before starting any project. So exciting to lay it all out and plan my next steps.
I would also recommend adding about 6” of gravel or rocks (nothing fancy – something you find around your house is fine), to ensure that your plants have enough drainage and don’t get root rot from too much water.
After you add some rocks or gravel to your planter, fill it almost to the top with potting soil (dirt), and then plan out how you want to design the planter. I added the tallest plant in back, which was my purple, decorative kale. That took up about ¼ of the planter. I used my little shovel to dig a small hole, a little deeper than the roots of the kale, and put the kale into the dirt after removing it from its plastic planter pot. Next, I added my mint on the right, a few marigolds, and finished the planter off with the basil in front. Make sure nothing is sitting in there lop-sided, and use the rest of your potting soil to fill in around the top of the plants. What a fun and beautiful creation!
Using fresh basil from my new planter garden, I made a fresh and tasty appetizer or snack of Balsamic Bruschetta, which was so good with the Snapple Mango Tea. Simply get your favorite loaf of French Bread, slice it thinly, and toast it (I used my toaster oven and it worked very well). Meanwhile, dice fresh, vine ripened tomatoes, and a few basil leaves, and mix them in a small bowl with some balsamic vinaigrette and a touch of salt. Top your toasted bread slices with it, and impress guests or yourself with this tasty, all natural dish!
With a cold glass of iced Snapple Mango Tea in hand, I was able to sit back and enjoy the fruits of my labor. I even garnished the iced tea with a cute straw and mint from the container garden.
This would also be so cute to serve at a party, for lunch, or just a quick and healthy snack. I love incorporating as many fresh items into my meals as possible, and Snapple is made with all natural ingredients too.
So incredible to be able to create fresh, healthy meals from items in my garden! I will be planting lots of tomatoes soon, so this recipe will be even better when I can use tomatoes from my own garden. Until then, vine ripened ones from the grocery store will be perfect (organic if possible).
I just love how my edible container garden looks near my front door. Now I see it every time I arrive home, and this beautiful, colorful arrangement greets me!
What are you planning for your garden this year? Let me know in the comments below.