Thursday, April 11, 2013

operation green thumb: gardening in raised planter beds



my thumb is not even close to green. they are in fact both a very deep, dark black. my sweet grandmommie had the greenest of green thumbs......i did not inherit that gardening gene. in all truth, i have trouble keeping alive the plants that people insist i will be unable to kill and are described as "low maintenance" or "hearty". so, when my amazing landlords built raided planter beds in our backyard i was excited.....but scared. mostly scared.  

i hate failing (and there has been a lot of failing in my life lately). it wasn't about me though.....my two sweet boys were *so* very excited about the idea of planting and growing their favorite fruits and veggies so i decided to get over my mental hurdle and go for it. i did a little research (and called a dear friend for a TON of advice) and headed off to the land of orange shopping carts. i loaded up the car with a bunch of goodies and headed home to plant. (notice i picked plants and not seeds. i think they already have a fighting chance, right? they have already started to grow! no seeds for me this time. i am not that stupid brave. here's to hoping and praying that my theory is correct). 



it actually was pretty easy. I added a ton of soil to the beds and went to work planting. the kids had so much fun and so did i! it was a beautiful day outside, the sun was shining and it felt good to dig my hands into the soil and dream about the bounty of fruits and veggies it will (hopefully) someday produce in abundance.

tomatoes, basil and blueberries, oh my!

if you look really close you will see a tiny green tomato growing!

strawberries!


the *best* part was buying a 10 lb bag of worms and letting them lose in the soil. i was told it is really good for the plants and soil but the most wonderful part was spending time with the boys and seeing the wonder and excitement on their faces as we watched the worms dig their way into the soil and disappear. it was awesome! (and i forgot to take pictures, of course! ugh.)

will the plants grow? will they bear fruit or veggies? the truth is......i am really not sure. one thing i have learned is that there are no guarantees in life. what i do know is this; i took a risk. i conquered my fears and i tried. i tried!!!  i may fail.....it's a very real possibility.....*but* i didn't let my fear of that failure get in the way of trying. and, for today.....well, that is a really, really big thing.




1 comment:

  1. I love this post for many reasons: 1) I love gardening, so I just smile thinking about the joy of seeing the ground patted flat and the lovely little plants all standing there, full of possibility; and 2) this literally motivated me to try something new myself. There is so much richness in just going for something, not waiting for someone else to do it or wishing I could try but not being brave enough. After reading this, I actually am ready to sign up for a dance class I have been wanting to try but have felt inadequate or unprepared. So thank you for your vulnerability.

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