mama's kitchen garden

We've been working on a fun project all summer long. Back in January I started sketching out a garden area based on a little garden we love at Murphy's Landing. It was the doctor's garden, full of medicinal herbs. The garden I had in my head would be my own, personal garden.

I have a growing theory on gardening. I think it is a solo sport...and I'd be curious to find an exception to this rule. Rory sort of runs our huge garden. He has the vision, he figures out where to plant everything, and it's his project. But he does need a workhorse-helper...one who will listen to directions and weed the blueberries for the umpteenth time. I was bitter about this for a while, until I started to realize it's just how gardening goes. Would you agree? One person has the plan, and the other person is the partner to help execute the plan. 

So when I started dreaming up this garden I drew up my own plan and asked my partner to help me execute it. And I tell you what, I am loving this arrangement! Rory was enthused to get me working on my own project, and I loved that the size and scope of this garden felt compatible with being the mama.

The plan is to have a brick patio in the middle, with a little table and two chairs. That's the final part of this project we hope to complete this fall. And next spring I'm dreaming of lining the outside of the picket fence with zinnias. Perfecto!

The holes were dug back in May, and slowly Mama's Kitchen Garden has been coming together. 

We put the posts up after the kids were all in bed and the sun was slowly setting. It was just the two of us and we worked hard and fast and talked about all sorts of things. That's a personal favorite memory...there is a special romance in working hard on a project together. Those are all my favorite memories on this farm...are the side by side projects when I know I am needed and we have a shared vision.

We got all the posts in, packed in the sand and pounded with a pole. But the next morning we found that the very last post we had put in was terribly crooked. Apparently we couldn't see the level in the dark... We laughed and poor Rory had to dig the thing up in order to reset it.

Neighbors started walking by and asking us what we were building. It was very mysterious for awhile!

When I had the kids at Aunt Annie and Uncle Ed's house Rory finished the pickets and filled the garden beds with compost, soil and wood chips. I do love this gardening arrangement!

I started my basil, thyme, oregano, chives, rosemary and mint from seed in January. And then went to a little garden store in town and purchased the rest. This year I went for a mix of herbs for cooking, teas and medicinal. I have a ton of stuff drying in my garage right now. But next year I think I'll do more lettuce, kale, carrots, tomatoes, peppers and basil. It seems those are what I actually use each day.

It wasn't until we had it filled and planted that we mustered the will to paint the thing. Which is obviously the opposite order we should have completed this project. But we were eager to get stuff in the soil! So we planted, and then had to figure out how to paint around the plants. Hindsight is 20/20! We had our good friends over for a painting party, realizing quickly that a sprayer was going to help this project greatly...

And then just a week or two ago I called my folks and said, "I have a project that will take us no longer than 30 minutes working together..." I asked them to wear their painting clothes and come ready to finish the kitchen garden. Turns out it took 3 hours to weed whip, mow, dig out what needed to be painted, and paint all the precarious places we hadn't sprayed. Thankfully they are awesome and saw this project through to the end! Even Elsie helped paint with a teeny paintbrush from our craft bin. And then we ate the peach pie my mom had made and that made all the hard work feel good and worthwhile. Plus, it was a glorious day, which always helps too.

And Mom made me two stained glass garden stones from pictures that Ivar had drawn for me. That's me in my kitchen garden next to basil and chives and a big zinnia under the sun. What a lucky mama in her kitchen garden!

And now today I'm hopeful to make and freeze some pesto from that awesome basil plant that Sonna is standing next to. I started that plant from the teeniest seed you ever saw. And now it's a huge, bushy plant. God's abundance is so amazing!

I'll close with a special thanks to my garden helper. It is very fun to be the garden lead, but even more fun to have a garden helper who built the whole thing based on a little sketch I showed him on that paper back in January. You're a good guy, Rory. And someday I'll get out to weed those blueberries...