The Garden | Inspired Homeschooling

There’s food growing in my yard!!!!

My husband has done an amazing job with our garden. My primary role has been as cheer leader, admirer, and, occasionally, nagging know-it-all (you know, because I read a book on gardening). I’ve put a few seeds in the boxes, but really, he deserves all of the credit for the fact that there’s food growing in our yard!!!!

This is a new and exciting experience for us and we couldn’t be more thrilled.

Here are my tomato and pepper seedlings I started indoors several weeks ago. I’m skeptical they’ll produce any fruit, but truth be told, I was amazed they even sprouted.

I love this perfect square foot of radishes. It makes me very happy. If only I liked radishes.

This is chard we planted last year that survived the winter under a bed of dry leaves. I’ve been harvesting it for my breakfast omelets. There’s something so satisfying about picking your breakfast from your garden in the morning!

We’re big fans of greens around here so we’ve also got mustard greens, spinach and mixed baby lettuce.

It’s not coming in quite as gloriously as what we planted in the boxes, but I love the beans, corn and sunflowers sprouting in our “stump garden.”

Finally, I must admit that I gave my husband a hard time about the money he spent on fruit trees. But there are PEARS AND APPLES growing in my yard! I had no idea what a thrill that would give me!!!

In case anyone is wondering about the one book I read that made me an expert on gardening, it’s called Square Foot Gardening by Mel Bartholomew. He also has a great web site.

And in case anyone is wondering how I came to choose that one book from the thousands available, my dear friend and garden goddess Clea Danaan recommended it. Clea is much more “Zen” in her approach to gardening. If you prefer a more spiritual approach to gardening (as opposed to an approach designed by an engineer!), check out Clea’s web site and books.

How does my garden grow?

We’re enjoying a wet week here. I’m gazing at my garden from my beautiful sunroom as the rain pours down outside – and my kids pour water from the sink in the kitchen.

We are all up late last night because we hosted book club, and so I’ve decided we’ll just stay home and be today. The house is a mess but my kids are happy and I feel peaceful and cozy in my little house.

I’m new to gardening and I’m learning from my little garden. For example, I had no idea that tulips open during the day and close up again at night. I cut a few blooms to put in a vase on my kitchen counter and they were full and beautiful when I put them in the water. When I woke up this morning they were prim and proper. Who knew?

I also did not know that dandelions, when left to their own devices, grow tall! Now that I think about it, I know I’ve seen tall dandelions that have gone to seed, but I’ve never before noticed a patch of tall dandelions growing in a garden as if they belonged there. And I think they’re beautiful. I love the contrast of the yellow with the red of my tulips. So pretty.

All of this rain should be good for the garden. I’m hoping to see some more pea sprouts and maybe some beets. I didn’t have much luck with beets last year, and I’m holding my breath for this year.