A growing happiness…

Then the Lord God planted a garden in Eden, to the east, and placed in the garden the man he had formed. The Lord God planted all sorts of beautiful trees there in the garden, trees producing the choicest of fruit.

Genesis 2:8-9(a) TLB

He who cultivates a garden and brings to perfection flowers and fruits, cultivates and advances at the same time his own nature.

Ezra Weston II

When I was growing up, our house was on a 1/3 acre lot where my mom grew all kinds of flowers and my Dad grew vegetables and fruits.  You would think that I would have gardened alongside them, but I did not. What I DID DO was to enjoy the beauty of the flowers and the tastiness of the fresh produce!  I also loved to climb in our paper shell almond tree where I got a birds eye view and could open the shells with my bare hands to munch on a fresh almond!

When raising a family, I returned to my family’s roots with a budding interest in gardening (puns intended). First came big, tall sunflowers that I would plant in a circle with vining green beans in between the sunflower stalks. My sons (and the cats) loved to hide in their shady green fort. Eventually, pumpkins became a staple too, so that we could grow our own for Jack-o-lanterns, roasted pumpkin seeds, and fresh pumpkin for making pies.  As the years went by, I added more flowers and vegetables into the growing mix. For some years, my husband and I would go to the local nursery on the Saturday before Mother’s Day, then, on “my day”, the kiddos and I would plant the plants as well as seeds.  You might say that gardening has “grown” on me!  Oh, those puns…sorry!

Now, I consider gardening one of my favorite outdoor hobbies, along with hiking and paddleboarding.  There is something special about watching a plant grow so that you can either harvest your own produce or enjoy the colorful variety of flowers and leaves. It brings me great joy to carefully plan and choose the plants and seeds for my yard and garden.  Then I like to prepare the soil, plant seeds, and transplant seedlings followed by watching everything grow.

But if I haven’t already “planted” an interest in gardening, there’s more to come in tomorrow’s blog…