Dialogues from the Garden

We've lived in our current home for almost 4 years now, and have never had a garden. Until this year. Somehow we got the bug again, and my hubby whipped up some garden boxes, and you saw earlier how Little Missy was helping shovel the rock around them. Already, it's been an adventure for the family. All of the kids are pretty "interested" in it---I can't say "excited" as I'm not sure my teen relates to that word anymore (unless it's dealing with a video game victory or the hopes of obtaining that elusive cell phone. I know...the poor deprived kid). But yes, they are all eager to make sure the gardens are growing and taken care of. So far.

Little Missy and her sister, especially, have been the guardians and waterers of the garden boxes. They have loved the process from the very beginning, and were so concerned a few days ago when we had torrential rains for hours on end, followed by hail. Our four garden boxes were literally islands in a pond of standing water two days ago during and after the rains. My hubby dug a trench into the vacant lot behind us to allow the water to drain, but apparently that was not working efficiently enough. I had to leave for a while, and when I returned an hour later, the standing water had magically disappeared. The boys were all too excited (okay, another instance of excitement for the teen) to tell me how they and the hubby had gotten rid of the water....Thankfully no one was ELECTROCUTED, as they used the SHOP VAC. Yes, the good ol' shop vac. Wish I'd been around to take a picture. Nothing but raw, livin'-on-the-edge genius in this household, and certainly, no messing around with a sissy little drainage ditch.

Little Missy has been enthralled watching the plants sprout through the soil, and has found such great joy in everything. A few weeks ago when planting the seeds, I poured some carrot seeds into her hand to sprinkle into the shallow ditch I had dug with my trowel. Upon seeing them for the first time ever, she squealed, "Oh, Mom! These seeds are sooo cute! They look like little baby nuts that have just been born!" My other kids and I stared at each other with a momentary stupor as we processed that statement, then burst out laughing.

So this morning she and I went out to check on things, and I happened to notice that not only do we have radishes growing in our garden box, but also in the rocks next to it. Not really expecting any response, I said casually, "Hmmm...looks like somebody spilled some seeds in the rocks." Little Missy piped up with the honesty and gusto of a 5 year old, and stated frankly, "Oh, yeah. That would be me."


The garden has certainly been entertainment so far. I'm sure it will just get better as we watch the zucchini and squash proliferate.