This tiny garden in our side yard was a dream of mine for a long time. But prior to its existence I found myself making so many excuses: I don’t know how to garden, there’s not enough direct sunlight, I have no idea where to start, it will be too expensive, and excuse after excuse after excuse. And then one day, I convinced Will to knock down a fence and we decided to just go for it.
Now it is almost 4 seasons later and I can’t imagine life without this little outdoor area. A space for the kids to play and explore and learn. A place where I can plant all my favorite flowers, experiment with new varieties and colors, and watch my hard work come to life. A place I go to meditate and just listen to the crickets and the birds without thinking about all the things I should be doing. A place where we all gather when it’s time to go outside, to drop our baseball bats and tennis rackets and switch into our gardening boots. And our favorite place to have picnic dinners in the summer.
What started out as a mid-pandemic quarantine project in spring of 2020, created out of sheer boredom when we were a much smaller family of four, has grown into an integral part of the lives of my now family of six.
So here is look back at how the garden has served not just myself but my children throughout all the seasons.
W I N T E R
During the winter months the garden looks much emptier than usual. The butterflies that were here through the fall have gone and the last of the cosmos and sunflower petals have dropped. Luckily there are no mosquitos this time of year so we bundle up and while the kids run around and pick up sticks and leaves, I start to map out and plan the layout for spring planting. Since we live in zone 9a and our ground temperatures never get too cold, most of our spring bulbs are in the refrigerator pre-cooling during this time. But by January I usually get the bulbs into the ground.
S P R I N G
Spring is when the three main flower beds are really abundant, full of tulips, daffodils, narcissus, ranunculus, anemones, and muscari. Later in spring, around May, the confederate jasmine along the fence is in bloom and you can smell the jasmine before you even get around the corner! The garden has been a fun spot for spring Easter egg hunts too for the children, a favorite past time of our is to hide the eggs and hunt for them all month long!
SUMMER
In Summer time the bugs come out in full force! Between the kids and at the pets, I dont use any chemicals or pest control in the garden, so we have had a few years of successful tomatoes but otherwise our vegetable have simply become caterpillar bait. However this past summer I started to grow dahlia’s and I have loved adding this last summer floral beauty to the garden. We love to add a small kiddy pool out here at summer time too. Between the pool and the sprinkler, the kids get a lot of water sports done in the garden.
AUTUMN
This was the first year I transformed the garden into a pumpkin patch/spooky graveyard for the kids to enjoy for the fall months. Most of the pumpkins are artificial and a few real ones we picked up from a local spot. The weather cools down a bit and only a few cosmos and later summer butterfly bushes remain. But we have had so much fun playing in here this time of year as well.
If I have peaked your interest and you are ready to start your own garden, here are a few of my favorite gardening supplies:
metal garden caddy // watering can // gardening gloves // 10 piece kids gardening set // gardening boots // straw hat // cut flower garden book // Flexi hose // bulb planter // pruning snips // scallop edge pot
Gardening doesn’t have to be as intimidating and complicated as books and magazines make it seem. Gardening can simply be whatever you want it to be. All it takes is deciding to finally make it happen!
