home is where my story begins...

Sweet Peas and Sweet Memories

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Sweet peas will always remind me of home and my mom.  Every summer my mom would grow sweet peas along the fence of our yard.  There were always fresh cut sweet peas on the dining room table.  The best surprise was when my mom would put a bouquet of sweet peas by our beds.  I think every little girl should wake up with sweet peas by her bed, at least a few times in her life.
Well, it’s time to plant sweet peas.  We added new soil to the kids’ garden box a few weeks ago.

I always soak the sweet peas in water overnight. It helps them germinate faster.  (My mom taught me that, and she’s the sweet pea expert.) 

The kids planted their seeds under the trellis.

I absolutely cannot wait.

Happy planting!
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Time to Plant Potatoes

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 Yep, it’s that time of year. My kids and I took a trip to our local garden center to buy seed potatoes. My daughter picked the Yukon Gold. My son picked out the Red Potato.

I’d like to point out that my sweet little 10 year old picked this potato because, “Hey, this one looks like a butt.” Now, my daughter would have flipped it around and said it was a heart, but when you’re a 10 year boy, it looks like a butt.

We took the potatoes out to the garden. (In between down pours.) We dug a hole.

Then, we plopped one potato in each hole.

My kids love potato harvest day, in the summer.

 

I can’t wait until summer, when we can dig up our potatoes and roast them on the BBQ for dinner.


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Happy planting!

A Really Poopy Weekend

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Yep, it was a poopy weekend at our house. The rain finally took a break, so I headed down to Lowe’s to get my chicken poop.


I’m not sure why, but chicken manure was $3.20 per bag and cow manure was only $1.20 per bag. Chicken manure is usually my first choice, but this year I went with cow manure in the interest of saving money.  My mom’s garden usually grows twice the size of my garden.  I’m hoping that 12 bags of cow poop give my garden the nutrients it needs to grow as well as my mom’s garden.

The veggie garden is ready to go. I’ll plant peas and potatoes next weekend.  We’ll plant the rest of garden in May.


Happy gardening!
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Finally

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The are finally starting to bloom!!! I love my dahlias. They make the most perfect bouquets.

 

I get my dahlia bulbs for free. Yes, I said free. They come from Carpooler Michelle. (Side story: When my son was little there were three Michelles in his life. There was Auntie Michelle, Haircut Michelle, and Carpooler Michelle. He’s now 9 years old, but she is still Carpooler Michelle in our house.) Carpooler Michelle’s mom grows lots and lots of dahlias. Now, those of you who grow dahlias know that you are supposed to dig up the dahlia tubers every year, divide them, and store them in a dry place until you are ready to replant in the spring. That’s just too much work for me, so I just leave mine in the ground. Most of the time I get lucky and they come back the next year. When we have really wet winters, sometimes the tubers rot. Sad. But then Carpooler Michelle comes to the rescue and gives me dahlia tubers BY THE BOX FULL! This year I was even able to make requests for certain colors. Reds, yellows, oranges, and whites are my favorites.

 

Thanks Carpooler Michelle! Happy gardening!

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The Great Potato Harvest

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It’s that time of year again! My kids love potato harvest day.

 

We plant our seed potatoes in March, as soon as we have the garden cleaned up and ready. The kids think it’s amazing that all you have to do is dig a hole and drop a potato in. After a few months, when the potato plant dies, we start digging.

 

I usually plant several different varieties, which means they will be ready at different times during the summer. This plant was called Fingerling Yukon.

 

Here they are just after they came out of the ground. After a good washing they’ll be ready for dinner.

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I love growing my own food. It’s so rewarding to grab a few things from the garden and have a terrific side dish for dinner. We roasted the potatoes with garlic salt, a drizzle of olive oil, and fresh parsley. My daughter usually won’t eat potatoes, unless they are in the form of a french fry. Last night she was gobbling them up while claiming, “I dug up this one!” I’d call that a success!

The Vegetable Garden

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When my son was about 2 years old, I decided I needed a hobby. Pre-baby, my life had been teaching, working on my Masters Degree, and reading A LOT of books about reading and literacy in early childhood. Post-baby, my life was all about my new bundle of joy, teaching, and learning to balance the two.

My son loved to play outside (still does), so I decided gardening might be a good hobby for me. I wasn’t new to gardening. We grew up with a very large vegetable garden, all-you-can-eat raspberry bushes, and many hours of cleaning beans to freeze for the winter. Seven years ago my husband, 2 year old, and I started our own garden. We moved a few years ago and have a garden space at the new house too. It brings so much joy every year.

Here’s the family picking berries in the yard, last summer. (That’s my Riley Dog right there. He died of cancer not long after this picture was taken.)

A few weeks ago, the rain took a short break. I grabbed my camera to snap a few pictures of my freshly planted garden. This is the view from my bedroom window.

The area that the vegetable garden is in was completely empty, other than one REALLY big rhody bush when we moved in. We saw the idea to make rock pathways in one of my Country Garden’s magazines. The kids moved rocks from other areas of the yard to build the paths.

I usually grow veggies from seed, but this year we bought starts. Our new puppy, Cooper, doesn’t really know the “rules of the garden” like Riley did. I thought starts might be a better option this year.

I can’t wait to show you how it looks in a few more weeks!

Since my mom has really been the one to inspire my love of gardening, I thought I’d share a picture of her vegetable garden. This was taken last year. She always says that no one sees her garden, so let’s show it off.

We built the raised garden boxes when she moved into this house. Last Summer we put in the fence posts and bird houses. Her vegetables always grow about twice the size of mine. Her yard looks fabulous and very park-like.

I have lots more to plant this year. More pictures coming soon!!! Happy gardening!

Here a few parties I like to link up to.

Spring

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Saturday was an unusually warm and sunny day in the Pacific Northwest. My little girl and I took a walk up to the school, where my son was participating in his Pinewood Derby race for Cub Scouts. Along the way, we just couldn’t resist taking a few pictures of the beautiful flowers in bloom.

Enjoy!





Time to Plant Sweet Peas

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To me, this is the first sign that Spring is getting closer. My mom always says I should plant my sweet peas on President’s Day weekend. I think it’s a little early. The start of Spring is my favorite time to plant.

I soak my seeds overnight, so they will germinate faster.

Sweet peas need support. I found these old windows in my cousin’s barn, in Eastern Washington. They make the perfect antique trellis for my sweet peas. I can’t wait to post pictures of the flowers covering the windows.

Enjoy the start of Spring! Happy planting!