-- Minnie Aumonier
I never saw myself as the gardening type. Then we moved into this house, and there was a little patch of earth in the backyard that had been set aside as a garden. It was just a weed-filled rock quarry at the time, but I was inspired.
I made to-scale diagrams and planned what would be planted where. I spent hours pulling billions of rocks out of the soil and digging in compost. The first year we had a great crop of tomatoes and a few heads of broccoli.
The next year I decided we needed raised beds, and Chris and I spent what seemed an exorbitant amount of money buying wood and more soil. When we finished, I was so proud of the beautiful beds. Again we succeeded with tomatoes and not much else. A few beans and some zucchini. That was the first year I tried canning. Lots and lots of salsa and spaghetti sauce. I was so pleased with myself for my domesticity.
The next year Chris installed soaker hoses in each of the beds -- no more sprinklers! We planted strawberries. They have gotten better each year, and the kids love them. Last year Lindsey ate dozens and dozens straight from the garden.
I still don't consider myself much of a gardener. I haven't had a bumper crop of anything except tomatoes, and they practically grow themselves. Still, there is something very spiritual to me about cultivating and growing something in the earth. It's a beautiful thing.
This year I again have big hopes for the garden. Who knows what I will be able to grow; it's the process I enjoy, I guess, more than the harvest. (Good thing, since the harvest is usually small.)
On a warm day we worked in the garden as a family. I love the idea of teaching the children to work in that way. Maybe my success will be more in growing them.
"God almighty first planted a garden. And indeed, it is the purest of human pleasures."
-- Francis Bacon
It may not look like much, but I love it.
And let me throw in a cute photo of Joseph, just for fun!
