Have I mentioned we have a vegetable garden? We have a small plot in the Lily Dale community garden area so we can grow food for our family.
It is our space to nurture plants and experience the joy of reaping what we sow. I agree with Gertrude Jekyll (a British horticulturist, garden designer, artist and writer):
Tilling, planting, watering, nurturing, and weeding all take time and effort. Waiting for the plants to grow over the course of two or three months takes patience and time. While I do this, the children play and dig in the dirt too.
My older son enjoys noticing the seedlings emerge from the soil, the white of the cauliflower peeking out among the leaves, the sweet pepper growing bigger on the plant, and the tender lettuce growing. He is eagerly awaiting beets, green beans, and tomatoes. Harvesting sugar snap peas is his favorite garden activity, although he tends to eat more than end up in his bucket.
My younger son enjoys roaming around the garden with his plastic trowel in hand. Occasionally we must shoo him away from a plant he is about to trample, usually the yellow squash, kale, and eggplant.
Watching the stages of growth a plant goes through helps me and my children to understand our own life phases and stages of personal growth. We are also having to trust that the plants will grow under our loving care and protection. Weather, critters, and babies are all factors we can only attempt to control (and ultimately harmonize with). *smile*
I know my children are learning to honor the process by witnessing it first hand as "vegetable farmers" growing food to sustain our family. In years to come, I hope my children will remember this special time of growth and harvest in Our Family's Garden.
It is our space to nurture plants and experience the joy of reaping what we sow. I agree with Gertrude Jekyll (a British horticulturist, garden designer, artist and writer):
"A garden is a grand teacher.
It teaches patience and
careful watchfulness;
it teaches industry and thrift;
above all
it teaches entire trust."
Tilling, planting, watering, nurturing, and weeding all take time and effort. Waiting for the plants to grow over the course of two or three months takes patience and time. While I do this, the children play and dig in the dirt too.
My older son enjoys noticing the seedlings emerge from the soil, the white of the cauliflower peeking out among the leaves, the sweet pepper growing bigger on the plant, and the tender lettuce growing. He is eagerly awaiting beets, green beans, and tomatoes. Harvesting sugar snap peas is his favorite garden activity, although he tends to eat more than end up in his bucket.
My younger son enjoys roaming around the garden with his plastic trowel in hand. Occasionally we must shoo him away from a plant he is about to trample, usually the yellow squash, kale, and eggplant.
Watching the stages of growth a plant goes through helps me and my children to understand our own life phases and stages of personal growth. We are also having to trust that the plants will grow under our loving care and protection. Weather, critters, and babies are all factors we can only attempt to control (and ultimately harmonize with). *smile*
I know my children are learning to honor the process by witnessing it first hand as "vegetable farmers" growing food to sustain our family. In years to come, I hope my children will remember this special time of growth and harvest in Our Family's Garden.
"The best place to find God is in a garden.
You can dig for him there."
--- George Bernard Shaw
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