Summer Chores

Summer for me has always meant camping, and picnics, and bike rides, and sunshine, and fresh berries. Summer has not meant gardening. Gardening is something mom always did (while I was forced to do the whole family's laundry inside - gross!!). I benefited from the nice summer flowers, but planting them was not one of my skills.

Since those days at home I've gained a house and a husband, and somehow... a desire to garden. So I'm learning. Slowly. In the past I've killed most plants that have entered my home... including almost killing one that my aunt gave me that was suppose to be invincible (and despite my best efforts, it did survive!). I have the opposite of a green thumb. No natural gardening instinct. Maybe we could say I have a black thumb? But last year I planted my first flowers in baskets, and they survived (most of them) the whole summer! Then I understood why people like gardening - the beauty, the pride in your accomplishments, the joy of working outdoors in the sunshine. It's fun. So I'm going to try again. With some help.

Lucky for me, my mother-in-law lives very close by and has a breadth of experience growing plants and flowers and vegetables. She is my gardening mentor. We're going to help her plant her vegetable garden (and benefit from the fresh veggies!) and she's going to guide us in making our flower garden :)

Step one for me: get the old dirt out of the baskets and air it out for a bit. Thats my plan tonight. Then I get to go buy some plants this weekend to fill them :)

This weekend we had some fun outside and started the process at mom's place. Here are the first of many garden pics to come this summer:

Fresh new soil!

Mom's tulips have come up nicely!!

(We're still waiting on our tulips at home - they are in a shadier spot than mom's)

Mr. A stirring up the dirt after the long winter.

Look how much garden there is to plant in!

Mom and I pulling up the weeds and cleaning around some plants.

Next step: more rototilling, then planting seeds

According to mom, the potatoes and tomatoes are going in first!

{summer}