Mother's Day in the Garden

I couldn't think of anything I wanted to do more for Mother's Day than work in my garden with my children, so that's exactly what I did.  Tes and i got started when I put Christian down for his nap.  I really wanted to get two more beds ready, and get some more cold-hearty seeds in the ground.  The two beds were built, but I still had to line them with hard ware cloth, and mix the soil.  I had picked up some more top soil and composted manure the day before, and it was all waiting for me.  Tes danced around the garden while I stapled the hard ware cloth in place, when I wasn't looking she got my phone and started snapping pictures of my progress, so I owe her a photo credit for today's post. Once I had the boxes finished, I started carrying over the bags of soil to mix, and Tessie couldn't wait to get her hands dirty.

 We mixed the top soil and composted manure in the wheel barrow first.  The process was a bit slowed down due to Tessie's methods, but she was having such a good time that I couldn't rush her. 
Tes helped me dump the wheelbarrow full of dirt into the bed, and we mixed it once more.  I used my hoe, and she used her hands.  We were a great team. 

 I took a break to check on the snoozing boy, and sure enough, he was awake.  Christian joined us in the garden, and watched from his stroller as we planted the first bed.  We planted cabbage, cauliflower, and swiss chard.  We left room at one end of the bed for our broccoli starts, which we will wait another week to transplant.  Tessie provided Christian with a lap-full of rocks to play with until he grew tired of the game and wanted to play in the dirt.  The kids played in the shady corner of the garden while I planted the second bed with sweet peas and green beans.  Watching the kids getting absolutely covered in dirt from head to toe was by far the greatest part of my day.

Happy Kids

When I had all the seeds covered, the kids took turns helping me water.  Tessie was a little over zealous while watering our lettuce bed, but I'm hoping they don't mind.  

 

Having both kids (and Lucy too) in the garden today was such a treat.  Usually I just get to garden with Tes because Christian get's frustrated and can't sit for that long.  He had a blast today, and I couldn't have been given a greater gift.  We all worked hard, and were filthy by the time we headed inside.  It was a perfect Mother's Day.

Our Foreman