As a Southern woman, I think gardening is in my blood! My parents garden, my grandparents always had a garden, and my GREAT-grandparents had a garden. I'm sure their parents did as well! I can vividly remember being a young child and wondering why in the world my parents/grandparents wanted to be out in the heat, dealing with weeds and bugs, etc. just to grow flowers and vegetables. Then I grew up....and couldn't wait to have a garden of my own!
Yep, it's like Gardens Gone Wild. This was my first garden, and obviously, I had no idea what I was doing. I planted a bunch of seeds, of a bunch of stuff, and I was so excited when the seeds sprouted that I didn't have the heart to thin them out. I let them grow. I let them ALL grow! I had about a million cucumbers and zucchini that year. I bet I had 20 watermelons too. It was a mess, but it was amazing!
My kids were excited to see everything grow too. This is my daughter checking on a watermelon.
Of course, not everyone was thrilled! It was hot, and it was a lot of work, but it taught me so much! And my family ate more vegetables the two years I had a garden than any other time in their lives! Life got in the way of my gardening for the past 2 years, but now that I'm moved and settled, I am really hoping to Gro Something Greater with my children. I want them to take the lessons you can learn from gardening into adulthood. It is so rewarding nurturing a seedling into a plant that produces food for your family. Hard work and perseverance pay off. As well as that sense of accomplishment you get from harvesting a meal for your family right from your back yard! I thought it was so cool to run outside and grab lettuce and carrots and basil for dinner and can't wait to do it again!
Part of what I learned is that anything you grow must be cared for and nurtured in the right way to produce the best possible yield. In gardening, it was definitely trial and error. In life, and with my children, I make the best possible decisions I can to have them grow strong and prosper. Too bad they don't make a Miracle-Gro for kids that gives them everything they need to grow big and strong! (Speaking of Miracle-Gro, my grandmother used it for as long as I could remember, and swore by it! And her plants and flowers were always gorgeous! But more on that in another post!)
What about you? Are you a green thumb? Do you love growing flowers or veggies? Share your stories here and at grosomethinggreater.com. Let's inspire one another to embrace our roots or plant some of our own! (You like that little play on words...roots - gardening...I'm witty like that. haha)
We finally have enough sunny land to garden on, but no time to do it this Spring because we have to get the old home ready to sell. I can't wait to have a garden next year though. I grew up gardening and so did my husband, so we know the work involved and love it. Your garden looked like a ton of fun!
ReplyDeleteIf you give me a plant it is the kiss of death! And yet I love plants, so I don't know what I'm doing wrong. I guess I will have to try Miracle-Gro and see if I have better luck!
ReplyDelete~Lin...
Hi, Kim! Stopping by from Coffee, Wine, Bitch.
ReplyDeleteI LOVE gardening, but I'm not great at it. Normally I stick to herbs and I have decent luck with basil (not great, but I don't kill it, so...). But once I have the space, I'd love to grow tomatoes, zucchini, and bell peppers. I tried to grow all three of those in pots last year and it did NOT end well. :P Love this post, thanks for sharing!