A Kitchen Garden

A couple weeks ago I planted my first garden at our country home.  I've had a garden only once before - a small raised bed at our previous house - so this was a new experience for me.  I know very little about gardening except from the little I've read and the questions I've asked.  But I'm hoping to learn.

We selected a spot in our yard close to our back deck.  I like the term "kitchen garden" and I feel like this accurately represents our garden because it's the first thing I see when I look out our kitchen window and it's also very convenient to quickly run out for something while cooking. 

(Do you see the patch of dirt?  This is nothing... right now it looks like our entire property is dirt!  We've been doing some extensive work outside, including bringing in dirt to raise the areas beside our house.  Hopefully in the next couple of years we will have nothing but beautiful grass!)

Our garden size is approximately 22 x 22.  I drew up a plot map so I knew exactly where everything should go.  I stuck this plan away with all of the seed packets so I can refer back to it if needed.  

Then we rototilled and prepped the soil for planting. 

A few days later on a beautiful Saturday morning Jillian, Rosetta and I went outside and planted.  It was so sweet having Jillian at an age where she could actually help me plant and dig holes.  

After planting (and while the girls were napping), I laid out pine straw between the rows.  And then I just stood there wondering how it would be possible for those little seeds to grow.  I was so sure that I would do something wrong and nothing would come up.

 But then this weekend I went outside to do some work and noticed I had a little cucumber sprout.  It was hard to imagine how a little seed could grow into something that would bring forth something so delicious.  A miracle...

And now just a couple days later my entire garden is covered in little sprouts.  It feels rewarding, not only for myself but also for Jillian.

In addition to planting seeds, I also bought some mature plants. 

Lavender.

 Mint.

 Several tomatoes (I hope to have plenty to can this summer).

 And some fresh herbs, like rosemary, which I've already been enjoying.

In addition to planting a garden this year, we also wanted to add some fruit bushes and trees.  When we made a trip to our new local home improvement store, I was so excited to see these mature blueberry bushes that came from a neighboring state.  

They already had little berries forming.  

 Our other weekend purchase was a swing for Rosetta.  You may have noticed that the swing-set is conveniently located right next to the garden.  The girls swung and swung this weekend while we worked around the yard.  Jillian loved pushing her little sister and Rosetta was all smiles.

Sweet springtime gardening fun!