Nothing beats the flavor of a homegrown vegetable. I have the sweetest childhood memories of helping my Nanny plant her tomatoes. I think that is where my love for gardening started. She had such a green thumb, and grew the most beautiful flowers in her yard. I remember my Dad tilling a small spot in our back yard for me to plant some veggies. Thats when I fell in love with planting seeds and watching patiently for a sprout🌱 Seeing that first bud of new life was the best feeling.
Fast forward to now, and we have so much land for planting. The kids and I started several weeks ago with our greenhouse seeds, (mostly flowers,) and now they are ready to be transplanted. We love to grow pollinators. Not only are they beautiful, but they also help the bees and can attract butterflies! Some of my favorites are zinnias, poppies, Mexican petunias, sunflowers, asters, cockscomb, and Bachelor buttons.
In addition to the flowers, we have several raised beds for tomatoes, cucumbers, a variety of peppers, squash, watermelon, pumpkins, and lots of herbs. This year, we also added peas to the patch from back home.
Funny story, we used to buy the small pie pumpkins for the kids to do crafts with. We would then use the pulp along with the seeds to feed the chickens, (bonus: the pumpkin guts act as a natural dewormer). Well, one year, we went on vacation and when we returned, we found pumpkin vines growing in our front flower beds! Ever since that day, we’ve planted pumpkins! It’s lots of fun when they start peeking out, and to see that bright, orange color pop from under the green vines.
Gardening is a family affair, all the kids enjoy seeing the crops when they come in. The girls seem a little more involved than the boys, but the boys will still come and help when their backyard baseball game is over😉 All that watering and waiting on harvest has become my favorite part of my afternoons. I would suggest to anyone that thinks they may wanna try gardening, give it a try! Happy planting friends!
Xoxo,
Holly