The Garden

2005 has been an outstanding year for our garden. I use the term "our" rather loosely in that the real minds and backs behind the garden have been Grammy and Granddaddy. We are blessed that they are willing accomplices in our multi-generational vision for family life. They have much wisdom to share and love to give that can be difficult to fully capture in weekly or monthly visits. Granddaddy (my father-in-law), has always been an avid and industrious gardener. I, on the other hand, usually surrender much of the garden's potential to the more diligent weeds and grass. Garden planting day, pictured below, was April 16th. This was the Saturday following April 15 - which corresponds the official last frost day for our area. Pictured are my daughters, youngest son, and Grammy and Granddaddy. You can just make out my oldest son and me in the background beginning construction of the garden shed/hen house.

May 7th and you can see things poping up. You may have also noticed the grass strips between the garden sections. That was a first for us and I'll address that in another post. You can also see the shed/hen house is nearly done.

June 21st and the garden is really at the peak of its beauty. Lettuce and broccoli are being harvested at this point, but we'll have to wait for what I consider the real payoff - tomatoes. From left to right you can see potatoes, broccoli - onions and lettuce, tomatoes, tomatoes - cucumbers and squash, early corn, butter beans, and pole beans.

August 11th and we have canned all the green beans we care to and the corn has been picked and either eaten fresh or frozen for the winter. The butter beans were replaced by okra and at the far right you can see pumpkins. Between the pole beans and the pumpkins is a row of asparagus.

Today, we only have turnip greens - which is a fine way to end a garden.
-Keith