Today we made a family effort to sort out our garden. Well, its not really a garden, more of a very small courtyard at the front and back of the house both of which are graveled and very boring. The front of the house is the dogs domain so not much lives there for long before it is eaten, trampled or dragged out for use as a tug toy and the back of the house is fenced and doesnt get much sun so I have to be selective about what I put there.
Most people living along our street dont bother............ fools! It is amazing what we get out of our small graveled bit of land. In previous years we have had cucumbers, tomatoes, potatoes, lettuce, radish, spring onions, peppers and more, all prettied up with flowers and even a little water feature. So what if we dont have nice flower beds and vegetable plots? We have pots! Aside from the obvious benefits like a cheaper shopping bill we also get sunshine, exercise, satisfaction and most importantly time together. Hubby left his computer, kiddo put down her DS and we all spent some time in the sunshine, ok so hubby didnt last long but he happily came out to do the heavy lifting and suchlike when I asked him and to offer his opinion when I didnt....
We made good progress today. It was a terrible mess out there as I hadnt touched it since last autumn but both front and back have been cleared. Kiddos pumpkin and tomato plants which she grew from seed herself and nurtured on her bedroom windowsill have been planted, we have troughs of flowers under our kitchen window to brighten our day and the pots have been prepared for our herbs to be planted. The front of the house is looking nice and kiddo is already excited about her plants, making sure they are watered and checking they are ok, its nice to see such enthusiasm about something so simple and so cheap in a time when it seems everything you want to do with your child costs a fortune. She had a fantastic day today and went to bed happy, tired and proud of herself at her hard work and success at planting.
I had a great day today to. I dont always see eye to eye with my Dad but gardening is the one thing that we both love and it is he I have to thank for this passion. Every weekend as a child I followed him up the garden to tend the huge fruit and vegetable crop we had, I listened to his instructions and took it all in although Im sure he thought I wasnt paying attention, I saved up all his tips passed down to him from his father and now I get to pass them along to my daughter. I have so many happy memories of days spent gardening with Dad when I was small and it feels great to be doing the same thing with kiddo, words cannot express my feelings of contentment at the end of our gardening day.
I know gardening isnt everyones cup of tea but I wish more people would give it a chance, even if its just to grow something simple with your kids. You dont need a massive garden or hours and hours of free time. Just a few pots of earth, some seeds, a watering can and a little effort and you never know what magic you can create!
I was so amused by the lack of harvest coming from the allotment rented by my ex and his mate that I wrote a short play about it, called A Lot Meant. Won't go into the 'plot' at this point, but suffice it to say I made a storyline in which the couple on the allotment were doing a lot more than gardening. And I don't mean in the landscaping sense.
ReplyDeleteBut I had never actually seen the 'real' allotment of this pair I know, but last week one of them was on holiday so I went up with the other to help water the 'produce'. I had had rather a stressful day and thought to myself a bit of fresh air might do me some good. I have to say it did - although maybe not for the reasons you may think.
I have to say there was so little in their plot it caused me great hilarity. No, I know it's not funny. But well, it is really. I've seen more produce on a roadside verge. When P asked me to water the strawberries I creased up. He should have gone to SpecSavers.
I wasn't expecting miracles, but the pair have spent so long up there I though there would be some foliage at least. In truth there was some, but no more probably than I've acquired in my back garden growing potatoes, salad and beans. To think I actually cut-back on growing this year because I thought the allotment would feed us throughout the summer!
I know what you mean Suze by the efficiency of the pots, and children quite rightly enjoy them Well, I hope our young lass is up for some gardening because she's got an allotment to look after when she comes at weekends. And I will be rolling my sleeves up too now my time is freeing up in the near future. Hmm.....blogging and digging