Spring has sprung

And you can see it in our backyard.

Monday morning the girls and I started our vegetable garden. This is our second year and I just can't get enough of it. I was excited last year because it was something new, but this year I have a little more experience and I used it to choose the crops I really knew would produce. The pretty little marigolds are bordered around the edge to help keep pests away. And I even sprinkled hot sauce around the border after I spotted a few ants this morning. (Did I get that right Nana?)





Some of my herbs held on strong through the cold winter (I know, I know, we live in FL - but there really were a few hard freezes this year). So I cleaned up/thinned out my parsley, mint, and chives. They look like little babies in their pots, but they'll be bountiful again in no time. The basil didn't make it, but I don't mind because it's oh-so-fun to grow again anyways. And can you believe that when I was looking for the seed packet, Ava thumbed through them and picked out basil on her first try. What a little gardener - she already recognizes her veggies and herbs.

Funny story: The little green pots are Ava's sunflowers which we planted on Monday. On Tuesday evening, while I was locked away in my room working on the computer, I noticed that Anthony had taken Lia out back. I texted him "Check ava's sunflowers..u can water them if they look dry. green pots near blueberry plants" and he replied with "The ones Lia is pulling dirt out of? great :) " So as you can see, only two seeds actually sprouted thanks to Lia's creative playtime.



One new addition this year is our "berry patch". I wanted to do it last year and it was just too much to try everything at once. We've started small with just five little plants to see how they do. I have had visions of my girls playing on their swingset and then hopping over to the berry patch to pluck some ripe berries off the plant and pop them in their mouths. Today Ava actually did it. Even though the blueberry was more of a "greenberry".



While I am excited to have found this new hobby of gardening, I'm also excited to pass on the experience to my girls. The more I read about the decline of our nation's attitude towards food, the more I want to instill in them the appreciation of quality food. On my nightstand right now is Michael Pollan's In Defense of Food, an eater's manifesto and if you haven't read it yet, I HIGHLY recommend it.