It all started with a field of poppies that never came to be.

It was February 2020, during the dreadful “15-day” COVID lockdown. I had no work. I had no hope.

I also had an empty 30’ x 30’ area on the side of my house. The land was bare, as it hadn’t yet recovered from construction, so I decided to create a “field of poppies.”

My experience with gardening was limited. As an architect, I more or less knew how to plan and organize the space, but I knew nothing about plant species or how to prepare the soil, so I went to work.

I started by “tiling” the soil l — quotations marks here because I didn’t have any proper tools and used a shovel instead, but I had a lot of determination, so the crazy endeavor took me around two days.

Then I sowed the seeds I had bought online on American Meadows, frankly the only thing that is left from those early days.

The result was a total bust.

Did California poppies do well in South Carolina, zone 8?

I had no idea.

I have to confess I didn’t know a thing about plant hardiness zones back then, more on that later.

Were poppies perennials or annuals?

I had no idea.

Being from Brazil, the land of eternal springtime, I knew nothing about evergreen vs. deciduous plants, absolutely nothing.

Fast-forward six years and I have a beautiful wildflower meadow that warms my heart throughout the season, and I will talk extensively about that in the coming months and, I hope, years.

The porch garden is a whole other story. I only started it a few months ago, but it really took off a mere two weeks ago when I installed an autonomous drip irrigation system before going out of town for a five-day vacation. When I came back, expecting to see all the flowers fading, I was surprised by the growth and vibrance I encountered, the bees, the butterflies and even hummingbirds. I had hit the jackpot!

The rest is history. A week later, The Porch Gardener was born and here we are.

If I could do it, so can you.

Hi there, welcome to my humble abode!