Gardening Woes

I can hardly call myself a gardener. I don't love playing in the dirt, don't pour over gardening magazines or blogs, and Kevin has to remind me to water/weed/tend to my garden constantly. And it's really an eyesore in our backyard for about 10 months out of the year. In fact last winter we tried composting, so in addition to the large pile of dirt that I see straight out my kitchen window every day, I also got to peer upon leftover kitchen scraps while doing the dishes. Awesome.

It's not that I don't enjoy having a garden, because I really do. I absolutely love the idea of a garden, and there are a few choice moments each summer that keep me planting again each spring. Moments like watching the kids run to the edge of the garden (days after planting) to see if anything is growing. Moments like Warner bringing his little wheelbarrow up the hill, full of cherry tomatoes that he has picked. Moments when the kids pick green beans with me, yelling "I found a BIG one, Mommy!".

This summer has been the worst yet for my poor little garden. We've had NO rain and I've been terrible at watering. And then there's the animal situation. The fence around our garden has ceased to keep critters out, so although our woodland friends are well-fed, my family has not enjoyed much food from our garden. Why even bother? I'm pretty sure buying produce at Kroger is a very nice alternative.

Last night the kids and I gathered the few green beans and tomatoes that our garden has produced over the past week or so. Warner and Maren picked nearly all the vegetables, broke the beans, and washed everything themselves. As we sat down to dinner and Kevin asked the kids if the green beans were good, they both said enthusiastically: "Oh yeah. These are the best ever".

So it looks like I'll be planting a garden again next year.