Sleightholm Folk Art

Photo from Old Sturbridge Village last summer….this is me gardening, in my imagination…..

      It’s that time of year. I want to “plant all the things!!!” After a winter’s hibernation, I feel like, yeah, I could totally plant a year’s worth of organic food! I’ll even can it! We’ll have a salad every night from our own yard! I’m ready to get back to the land!”

   But I know…. I KNOW.…..by July, half my crop will be dead, choked out by weeds, stepped on by little feet, or murdered by the brutal Oklahoma sun. Every August I think “ok, next year— I will not do this. I will ONLY plant what we will realistically eat. I’m not going to waste time and money again.” 

  And then, enter spring…..

  So. This year I am trying to be good, be smart. I am not making grand plans to make yet another flower bed. I am cleaning out the ones I have and am only going to plant what I know we’ll eat. But it’s HARD!

   I come from a long line of women who like to dig in the dirt. Some of my earliest memories are of being in my great-grandparents’ garden, which seemed so massive, running around in the sunshine in a world filled with flowers, bees and birds. I think, too, I want that experience for my kids. I want them to be outside, doing their own thing, using their imagination. 

  So perhaps it’s not about growing our meals— but growing a wonderful place to be. That is my goal for this coming growing season.

   I cleaned out the garden shed, making it a better place to play than a place to store garden shovels and rabbit feed. We also got our rabbits a new hutch that will make them easier to play with, and also be a better place for them to live in general.

   And I’m not going to sweat growing meals— but I’ll do my best to keep the garden a nice place to play– and yeah, probably grow some pizza toppings 😉 I’ve learned that you can never grow enough basil, and this year we’re going to try growing some corn since we discovered how amazing grilled corn is last summer. 

My painting “Picking Dinner” which is available as a print in my etsy shop

   So, that is this year’s garden goal. To make a beautiful, interesting place to play and just be. And bonus points for things we can eat! 

   How about you? Do you have garden goals for this coming spring? What are some of your favorite, and easiest things to grow? I’d love to hear about it!~

Til next time….
~H