Get out and Grow Something!

I love to garden.  I love to put my bare hands in the soil.  I love to watch the plants grow and blossom and bear fruit.  My love of gardening passed down from my Daddy, who farmed the hills of Virginia.

Our little 'farm' is 1/5 acre of VERY SUBURBAN neighborhood, complete with the sounds of planes, traffic, and the busy lives of others.  It's the biggest place we've ever had.  But no matter how small each place has been in our journey, we've gardened.  The local-est of food grown in the organic-est way.  Perfect!

When Mom and Daddy came to share our home, Daddy dug right in and we had the most abundant harvests!  Tomatoes for everyone we knew, cucumbers maturing overnight, peppers of so many varieties, and huge, bee-loved sunflowers!

A little over a year ago, Daddy died suddenly.  It was heartbreaking.  In the time that's followed, I couldn't go into the garden.  It was too hard, too painful, too reminiscent of his work and laughter and joy.  So I let my husband and the weeds take it over.

Time has passed and God in His goodness has healed my heart, and my body is healing after my own surgery.  I felt those old feelings of wanting to get down, get dirty, and grow some stuff.  My husband is a wonder of patience and love and strength, and has been working for several days, uncovering the old garden.  He's following my plan and has pulled everything up, built new raised bed surrounds, and placed them.  We're digging and pulling weeds and filling beds with the rich, healthy soil it took us years to cultivate.  A dear friend contributed her composter, which is being happily filled and tended.  Mom is watching and cheering us on.  Here's a look at the new plan in progress, six 4x4 beds and two 2x4 beds with space in the center for a small bistro set, a resting spot while tending the garden:

Ok, so it's a little rough around the edges right now.  Within a week, with good weather, it will sing!  This year we're planting lettuces, spinach, kale, onions, garlic, peas, cucumbers, tomatoes, peppers, zucchini, yellow squash, eggplant, blueberries and maybe beans.  We've already got herbs growing: rosemary, thyme, mint, chives, borage, and cilantro is coming soon.

I'll keep posting as we progress.  What are you growing this year?  Veggies, fruit, herbs, or just a little flower or two?  Let me know... maybe we can trade recipes for all the abundance to come!