i love my garden.

Last spring break, we spent the week prepping our garden plots. We tilled, weeded, shoveled, picked and did it all over again. And again. It was hard, muscle-aching work for a few days before we were finally able to plant seeds and starter plants in the four beds we had prepared.

i love my garden detail : Doodlebug Design : click to see image larger

The rows included tomatoes, eggplant, yellow squash, zucchini, green beans, cilantro, basil, mint, rosemary, jalopenos and sunflowers.

Those rows were made by lots of hard work and love. Those rows were beautiful in their blossoming glory. Those rows offered family time. Those rows played their part in the occasional obstacle course and ball game. Those rows were scrumptious at harvest time.

Those rows are missed.

When I'm repeating the above steps of sweatin' hard work, I must remember that tending the earth was and is so very therapuetic. And rewarding.

During the latter part of the spring semester of school, the K-girl brought home a completed worksheet in a heap of other papers and projects in her backpack. I sorted through them like I did on a daily basis, only to find this worksheet. The journaling prompt was "What do you like best about your home?" And with her fine-tuned writing skills, the then first-grader wrote, "I love my garden. My mom and I go to the garden every day and I pick the vegetables in the garden. My brother loves the tv and his ds."


i love my garden : Doodlebug Design : click to see image larger  

So very true.   I love that she included her brother into the equation.  And her statement was so very true --- he did not love the garden as much as she.  

So very heartwarming.

My scrapbook layout above is featured on the Doodlebug blog today, along with the work of talented Tiffany Hood.  Go check it out!  

day 13 : thirteen things

photo by K-girl

Thirteen tiny tomatoes in an array of yellow, orange and red were harvested from the garden.  And, then shared, along with zucchini and squash, with family members.   I enjoy sharing our love and veggies with others.

I love this photo taken by the sweetest K-girl and how my hands together form a heart.   Love. 

day one : self portrait

This is me, taking in the sunshine and beauty of our garden.  Listening to the K-girl talk about the tomatoes ready to harvest and the birds chirping.

I am always amazed at the miracle a garden holds. 

Really. 

We planted a few plants [tomato, pepper and herbs] and seeds in mid-March.  Things have sprouted nicely and continue to grow, that is until the heat of the Texas summer gets the best of them.   We have enjoyed an abundance of fresh vegetables -- tomatoes, zucchini, squash, peppers, green beans, rosemary, mint and cilantro -- and lots of oooohs and aaaahs as we spot a new bloom.  

The little chickadees that have overtaken the martin house watch over our garden beds.   They fly to and from the house to the feeder and back, always providing us with music a-flutter as we provide them with a snack and a safe haven.     

When I'm out there, I could get lost in my own little world. 

But, the sounds of cute little K-kiddos playing on the playset, running in the lush green grass and giggling or the singing birds bring me back to reality with a smile upon my face and heart.     

I hope the K-kiddos remember the joys of our garden, just as I remember my childhood garden, and the home it has been to our crop, those not-so-cute little critters and lots of TLC.