Our Little Garden

We usually have at least a tomato plant in the summer but this year we decided it was time for a garden. It is a little garden but it is still a garden. Our back yard is very shaded and our soil is not dark and rich, it is hard red clay. It seems like a lost cause, but we tried a few different things to hopefully make it a thriving garden. So a few weeks ago we found a spot that gets the most sun, trimmed the tree above it so that more sun can make its way in. We dug up a layer of the hard clay, and filled it in with top soil and natural fertilizer. Then began to plant...




Two tomato plants

A banana pepper plant and a jalapeno pepper plant...mmm, fresh salsa.

We also planted chives, mint, and merigold flowers. Not only do I love chives and mint, but they are said to keep certain types of bugs away because of the sents they give off. I have to admit, I do not love merigolds but if they do keep bugs away I will begin to love them very quickly!

We also planted a cucumber plant in a different area, away from the garden. The tag on the plant said it needed 6 feet of space, so we found another sun spot in the yard and planted it there. Hopfully it will grow big enough to need all that space!

I had to have some parsley and basil. I planted them in a pot, right out side the door. So when I am cooking, they are right there. I have been using them almost every day. That is the great thing about herbs, they just keep growing like crazy!

Here is the garden three weeks later

And now today five weeks later!

Our first tomatos

There really is something special about a garden. I find myself going towards it, checking around everything and making sure its okay every time I step outside. My husband said to me the other day, "if you keep stairing at it it will never grow." And all of you who know him can surely hear him saying that:) I love him, and my garden!

Pure Life

I am just a girl trying to figure things out. I did my share of cleaning and cooking growing up, but our grandparents were brought up taking part in the daily chores of life. I love hearing stories of when my grandparents (pictured above) were young. they took part in hard work. They did things like milking the cows, working in the fields, and churning the butter. I am so thankful for living when we do with all the modern conveniences we have. However, I have to say I believe it has left us all lacking. Is life now really so much better? So much easier then way back when? Yes, I think it is easier. But better, I don't know.

Maybe it's just me but, it always feels pretty good to get my hands a little dirty. To plant flowers, wash the car, and cook...real food. My mom just got me the book, Real Food by Nina Planck. I could not put it down and it made me want to change everything I do concerning food. One thing she said to use as a guideline to determine if what you are eating is "real food" is that it must be old and traditional. That statement got me thinking of what life was like back then.

Food was not processed, families had to spend much more time preparing it and therefore spend more time together. Quality time, working and learning, learning about life and how to do it.

I am on a quest to learn about the simple things in life that at one day were essential to know. Cooking, with "real food"...learning to sew... gardening... creating a warm atmosphere in my home, and transforming what may be trash to some into a treasure.