Our Green, Green Garden

Even though it seemed this past weekend that winter was here to stay and perhaps that furry little groundhog had told us a bit of a lie, springtime was all I could think about.  I decided it would be a good time to start getting our summer garden plans in gear and that maybe Addison would enjoy a little indoor planting.  Did she ever.

I took a little trip down memory lane and Addison and I read a book from one of my favorite childhood series, Mercer Mayer's A Green, Green Garden.  Remember "little critter"?  I still love those books just as much as when I was a child and this one was just the thing to get our little garden going.  Next, we mapped out our garden plans.  Addison drew her little garden and I drew the plans for our real garden.  It reminded me of Mr. MacGregor's garden in A Tale of Peter Rabbit.  (Sigh) If only my garden could ever look like that one, I would gladly accept a hungry rabbit or two.

Ryan and I had previously taken the measurements for our garden expansion and so I was able to determine how much we had room for and how much space each plant would need.  I purchased the seeds for the plants we needed to start indoors, we decided on sweet peppers, hot peppers, tomatoes, broccoli, Brussels sprouts, eggplant, lavender, rosemary, and thyme.  The remaining seeds will be directly sowed in the garden when it's warm enough.

Addison decided which seeds she wanted to plant, she went with tomatoes and peppers (her favorites to  eat of course) and we got to work planting.  I was amazed at how careful and focused she was with her little plastic shovel, scooping dirt into the little paper pots and "tucking in" her seeds into the soil.  We placed little Disney-themed tags in each pot, watered them and placed them on the window sill.  Each day since, she asks to check on them and I can't wait for the day when she gets to see something sprout.  That will be something pretty magical for her.

So if you're planning a garden for the summertime and are feeling as much spring fever as we are, right now is a great time to get your plans going and maybe even do some indoor planting.  If you have little ones, I would definitely suggest involving them too.  Not only is it a really fun activity to do as a family, you just might find your little gardener wanting to sample a few more veggies come harvest time since they had a hand in growing them!