Thankfully it has been good gardening weather and my garden was not in an area that suffered from the ten inches of rain that fell last week. I am thankful for my family, my home, my health, and for my gardens that bring me peace!
Wednesday, June 27, 2012
Gardening Therapy
My heart is heavy this week as my little home town is dealing with a tragic flood that has caused extensive damage to the homes of my friends and neighbors, and my school where I also work. So I have had little time for gardening this past week. I don't know how long my martagon lilies were blooming (for the first time!) before I snapped these quick pictures on my phone the other day.
Thankfully it has been good gardening weather and my garden was not in an area that suffered from the ten inches of rain that fell last week. I am thankful for my family, my home, my health, and for my gardens that bring me peace!
Thankfully it has been good gardening weather and my garden was not in an area that suffered from the ten inches of rain that fell last week. I am thankful for my family, my home, my health, and for my gardens that bring me peace!
Tuesday, June 19, 2012
Kids in the Garden
Here's my little squash planter, the youngest of my three little garden helpers.
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When I started gardening, I didn't set out to teach my kids about where food comes from, the pleasure of hard work and a job well done, and the sweetness of getting to taste the fruits of one's labor. But in addition to the nutritional benefits of consuming home grown foods, they are learning a lot! It is a lot easier to get them to try peas fresh in the pod when they had a hand in putting them in the ground. They even help in the pickling and canning process in the fall.
I come from a gardening family so I have always known the joys of the first bites of baby reds in early July, the feast of eating garden grown sweet corn all of August, and labor of canning tomatoes. It shocks and saddens me when I hear stories of children not knowing where carrots come from and that they are a root vegetable that grows in the ground! Not to sound all "doomsday-ish," but I'd like to think that my children would at least have an idea of how to save seeds and work the ground should our society crumble and they need to be able to supply their own food some day. And wouldn't we all be a little better off if we were to move more in that direction now, without the whole doomsday scenario playing out, please.
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When I started gardening, I didn't set out to teach my kids about where food comes from, the pleasure of hard work and a job well done, and the sweetness of getting to taste the fruits of one's labor. But in addition to the nutritional benefits of consuming home grown foods, they are learning a lot! It is a lot easier to get them to try peas fresh in the pod when they had a hand in putting them in the ground. They even help in the pickling and canning process in the fall.
I come from a gardening family so I have always known the joys of the first bites of baby reds in early July, the feast of eating garden grown sweet corn all of August, and labor of canning tomatoes. It shocks and saddens me when I hear stories of children not knowing where carrots come from and that they are a root vegetable that grows in the ground! Not to sound all "doomsday-ish," but I'd like to think that my children would at least have an idea of how to save seeds and work the ground should our society crumble and they need to be able to supply their own food some day. And wouldn't we all be a little better off if we were to move more in that direction now, without the whole doomsday scenario playing out, please.
Saturday, June 9, 2012
Running on Empty
I work in education, and it seems like the times I am busiest at work are the times that I should be busiest in the garden!
As it turns out, that worked to my advantage this year. After everyone else planted their garden seeds, we had TEN inches of rain in one week and everyone had to reseed. Except for me, ever behind the eight ball in the spring. So while my friends and neighbors were reseeding, I was sowing for the first time.
Here was my planting timeline, for future reference:
May 13: potatoes and onions went in
May 28 : beans, peas, carrots, beets, dill, broccoli and cabbage
June 2: tomatoes, peppers and zucchini
June 7: cucumbers and squash
On the flower front, everything's early this year. Peonies are just about to bloom. Irises of the bearded variety are finishing and siberians are about to bloom. Geum is done but geraniums will soon flower. It's a beautiful time of year!
As it turns out, that worked to my advantage this year. After everyone else planted their garden seeds, we had TEN inches of rain in one week and everyone had to reseed. Except for me, ever behind the eight ball in the spring. So while my friends and neighbors were reseeding, I was sowing for the first time.
Here was my planting timeline, for future reference:
May 13: potatoes and onions went in
May 28 : beans, peas, carrots, beets, dill, broccoli and cabbage
June 2: tomatoes, peppers and zucchini
June 7: cucumbers and squash
On the flower front, everything's early this year. Peonies are just about to bloom. Irises of the bearded variety are finishing and siberians are about to bloom. Geum is done but geraniums will soon flower. It's a beautiful time of year!
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