Happy Mother's Day! This is my traditional weekend to start working in the garden. Gardening is an excellent form of creative play. Digging in the dirt triggers memories of the sandbox and mud pies. The rewards are plentiful. Flowers delight with color and texture. Herbs awaken our senses. Vegetables nourish. Beauty and fertility--what maternal symbols!
My parents always had a garden with a border of strawberries. My brother picked quart after quart and logged the production on a piece of notebook paper. The faded page remains on the side of my dad's fridge to this day. My mother took up herb gardening once her nest was empty. I loved to walk through the garden with her, brushing the leaves and inhaling the scents--spicy, pungent, floral.
My first garden was also an herb garden. Built in a far-away town, it was an homage to my mother's herb gardens. My way to throw toil and creativity into a living connection to my mother. The crescent-shaped garden bordered with stones was brimming with basil, chives, chamomile and scented geraniums. The path was lined with thyme and lamb's ear. Tending the perfumed herbs shortened the distance between us.
These days I grow veggies in a set of raised beds. Garden boxes built by my son--a Mother's Day present given 5 years ago. What a lovely gift! He built them in an afternoon so you know it's an easy project. We bought the materials at Home Depot where they even cut the lumber for us. Each box uses four pieces of 1 x 12s. The corners are joined with deck screws. We cleared and leveled the area and put down landscape fabric, placed the bottomless boxes on top and filled with soil. My husband helped with some additions over the years. We now have five boxes which he enclosed with chicken wire to keep out the rabbits. Gates make it easy to work inside the boxes.
My first garden was also an herb garden. Built in a far-away town, it was an homage to my mother's herb gardens. My way to throw toil and creativity into a living connection to my mother. The crescent-shaped garden bordered with stones was brimming with basil, chives, chamomile and scented geraniums. The path was lined with thyme and lamb's ear. Tending the perfumed herbs shortened the distance between us.
These days I grow veggies in a set of raised beds. Garden boxes built by my son--a Mother's Day present given 5 years ago. What a lovely gift! He built them in an afternoon so you know it's an easy project. We bought the materials at Home Depot where they even cut the lumber for us. Each box uses four pieces of 1 x 12s. The corners are joined with deck screws. We cleared and leveled the area and put down landscape fabric, placed the bottomless boxes on top and filled with soil. My husband helped with some additions over the years. We now have five boxes which he enclosed with chicken wire to keep out the rabbits. Gates make it easy to work inside the boxes.
A favorite gardening book is one my father gave me, In the French Kitchen Garden by Georgeanne Brennan. Full of ideas for a year-round garden, this book also features charming illustrations, garden plans and recipes.
