I remember my first garden that was all mine. I was 12. My parents kept an impressive yard bursting with flowers, herbs and shady nooks but I wanted my own plot and I wanted to grow food. I asked my mom about it and I am pretty sure we were in the car on the way to buy seeds and compost before I could say please.
^ Margot, September 2009 ^
We lived in Georgia then and I had a tiny strip of earth that I carefully tended. I can’t remember what all I planted but what I do remember was the pride in nourishing a freckle into a carrot and the excitement in growing food.
Then I became a teenager and was more interested in boys, big bangs and pushing my parents’ patience than digging. But that first experience always stuck with me and I knew I’d return to it. It’s just too miraculous, satisfying and healthy not to.
^ Margot, August 2008 ^
And so I did return to it as soon as I had my first nugget of land to transform. I think I was 19. And gardening and I have been in a passionate, fiery affair ever since.
^ 2004 :: my first garden at our current home ^
On the list of things my Highly Important Things My Kids Will Appreciate, food and where it comes from is up there. I am so happy organic is trendy and urban gardens are growing. Because seriously, for a while there, it just wasn’t cool or mainstream enough. But even with the increase in popularity regarding knowing where your food comes from, there is still a lot of this and that makes me sad.
So, good grief Nici justgettothepointalready, I talk a lot with Margot about what food is, how it gets from field to plate. She loves it and finds it fascinating which makes me swell. We cook together and we grow the ingredients we cook with. My daughter knows what a seed is, what it turns into, how much work that takes and how it becomes her dinner. It’s very cool to witness her appreciation of the process.
^ Margot, June 2009 ^
So this year I asked her if she’d like her own garden to which her mouth formed a sweet, surprised “o”. I spread my seeds across the kitchen table and she carefully picked cherry tomatoes, pumpkins and carrots.
I found an old piece of baseboard in the garage (see you jest never know when you might need something like that. TOTALLY worth holding onto) and bug set out to make herself a sign for her own garden. She directed the whole thing, picking the colors and placement of the paint. We used washable paint and then I printed out the letters, transferred the outline with carbon paper and filled in with black latex and clear-coated the whole thing so rain wouldn’t wash her art away.
At least that was the plan but I left it out to clear coat and it rained and then it was again, ahem, a blank canvas. So we got to do it again! She actually thought it was very cool. THEN I clear coated it, cut a pointed end and drove that puppy into her garden.
She is so proud and loves to weed, dig and water. She’ll often say, as we are coming or going, mama, first I’ve gotta dig real quick. How can I say no to that? And so we dig real quick several times a day.
And all this garden gab makes me wonder where you all are with the Virgin Harvest? I’d love to know how your plots are thickening. (and it’s not to late to join in!)
