Getting Back To My Roots, Pun Intended

This weekend Grama and Pa Poke were up to visit Gizmo, and we were able to get some work out of Pa Poke between snuggles.  This weekend's task:  build a raised-bed vegetable garden.  My thumb is not as green as I'd like (I have killed everything except a peace lilly that my mom actually killed in the last two weeks!), but I have wanted one since we moved into the house, and was ready to tackle the challenge.  

After a quick discussion on plans and where the garden would go, Saturday we set out to Home Depot and the nursery to pick up the materials and plants.  (Sidebar: Pawl's Nursery in Apple Valley is by far the greatest place on earth.  Forget Disney World.  There were plants for miles.)

Saturday was spent putting the frame together, spading out the grass, and putting up the chicken wire.  Sunday was spent finishing the bed and getting the planting in.

(Everyone needs a coffee break, right?)

I was proud to say that I hadn't forgotten everything about gardening since I was a kid - it's just like riding a bike, I suppose.  Let's hope that's how I feel as the seeds begin to sprout!

Gizmo enjoyed watching the project come together from the dirt-free zone of her stroller.  I think she probably would have enjoyed wiggling in the damp soil, though!  

The finished product, complete with radishes, tomatoes, peppers, cucumbers, sugar-snap peas, corn, onions, and lettuce:

I had forgotten how much fun it was to work outside in the dirt.  I'm looking forward to watching it all grow, to nurture the plants and get rid of the weeds, and hopefully have a bountiful harvest come July and August.  

All fun wasn't lost on the garden - Grama and Pa got plenty of Gizmo time!

And at the end of the day, Gizmo enjoyed sitting outside on the patio, which got a good cleaning and reorganizing.  It's now full of flower pots and new patio furniture!