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"the spirit is a garden..."

4.14.2010



behold!
our container gardens have finally come together.
building these and planting made for one of my most favorite
saturday afternoons of all time!




we got the wood from a friend...
it was gathering mold and silver-fish
in a dark corner of his backyard.
hooray for free wood! hooray for re-used wood!







i am so grateful that ceej is so very handy...
he whipped these boxes up in no time.
which is a very good thing, you see,
i am not a patient person,
and when i get an idea in my head
i want it done now. not tomorrow or next week. now.

and ceej delivered in an afternoon.



we bought our plants that morning from a vendor
at the davis, ca farmers market.
talk about the thrill and adrenaline of shopping...i've never been
so excited to buy anything as i was to buy
something that i can nurture and watch grow,
and will then give back in a bountiful harvest.





i demanded, like a three-year-old, that i do the digging in the dirt.
i would not let ceej touch the dirt.
{okay, well, i let him help just a little...but this is my dirt...feeling just like a three-year-old indeed}




we planted five tomato plants, all organic:
amish paste {heirloom}
italian heirloom {heirloom, of course}
nyagous {heirloom and dark purple!}
and two standard big beef tomatoes.
mmmmmmm!




we followed my mom's advice and put the cages on now,
before the plants get too overgrown and caging them in
would be too rodeo-like.




we also planted:
three red-leaf lettuce,
two kale,
a plato zucchini,
one parsley,
two basil{s},
one chive{s}.
all of this added to our rosemary and thyme.

we are so very in love with our garden...
we check it every moment and make comments like,
"the leaves on the basil look bigger already,"
"oh good, it's raining! our garden loves rain!"
"oh good, it's sunny! our garden needs the sun!"
"do you think it will get too cold tonight?"

on sunday we took a long walk in the rain.
when we came back to our garden
we found two worms nearby on the sidewalk...
so we added them to our dirt:
adam and eve.
{by the way, we know nothing of worm biology or reproduction...yet}.

i thought this passage from les miserables was oh so appropriate:
sometimes he would dig in his garden,
and sometimes he would read and write.
he had only one name for these two kinds of work:
gardening.
"the spirit is a garden," he said.

i work.
i garden:
in the dirt, in a book, on pages.

15 comments:

Tonia said...

Watching plant grow is so exciting: our basil seeds are just poking their heads above ground now and we have high hopes for strawberries this year - providing we can keep the chickens away from them!

amy said...

We spent last friday starting a whole bunch of our seeds and every morning I go check to see if any of the little sprouts have come through yet. So far, thyme is in the lead!

I love gardening and I'm lucky to have a spouse who gets excited about it, too, and is more knowledgeable than I.

Speaking of worms, my next step is building a little worm composter to live under the kitchen sink. Easier than turning over the big pile in the backyard. Whatever you learn about worms be sure to post!

xoxo

Cherie said...

Congratulations on your new garden. You'll have so very much fun. I know it's one of my favorite things.

Also a great place to vent frustrations, reflecting, and coming up with solutions.

LMT said...

I love this post.

Havilah Savage said...

i love your posts- you always have pretty photos and you tell a lovely story about simple things like planting tomatoes. :)

nadia said...

this is wonderful! i have been playing in the garden all week- i love your boxes and yes the wood is a great gift!

mexicali rose said...

oh joy! love container gardens, they are contained! good luck with all your growth:)

kelly ann said...

i love this! i love gardens, and growing food.

Tiffany Kadani said...

Yay for container gardens! Someone is going to build one for me (I am not as cool as you) and I am so excited for all the herbs and roots I get to eat. Beautiful photos.

Char said...

earthworms are totally rad for your garden. love the boxes too. beautiful

thais said...

yay for recycled wood! they look wonderful and I can't wait to get home and start mine ;)

Brandi said...

Since we're in the middle of moving- we had do disperse our garden between family and friends- you've just inspired me to start gardening again as soon as we move into our new place! Really great post

shellie said...

there is nothing like being in love!

Dee said...

OOOOOOOH I LOVE that quote from Les Miserables! aaaaaah...it's so true, I'm so in love with my garden too. Your tomatoes sound divine!!!!! Love all the pictures. OH gardening is the best!!!!

Season said...

I'm jealous of your garden. Gardening is so fun! And I love that quote from Les Mis. Inspiring.

You are the coolest.