Growing up, I had neighbors that always had a gorgeous vegetable garden. Occasionally they would share some of the things they would grow. Anything they shared was always wonderfully tasty, but my family never grew a vegetable garden ourselves. Honestly, we barely (or maybe I should say hardly...) even maintained flower beds. I would hear people talk about gardening as a hobby and I thought they were crazy. To me gardening=looooong hours of weeding. Not my idea of fun, let alone a hobby.
We'll fast forward several years to where I am now. My husband Garrett and I got married a year ago. Garrett comes from a family who planted a large vegetable garden every year on Memorial Day, and they all helped prepare it and maintain it throughout the summer. When Garrett and I were dating, I would hear him and his family make comments here and there about it being someone's turn to do the weeding, or about the peppers being almost ripe enough and so on. There were a lot of times I got to eat what came from their garden, including the most delicious cantaloupe I've ever had. Just like those neighbors of mine, I thought their garden was great, but other than that I was happy it wasn't my responsibility.
Just after Garrett and I got married a year ago, my in-law's and their three youngest kids moved to South America to serve missions. Before they left, it was arranged that Garrett and I would live in the basement apartment of their house while Garrett's cousin and her family would live in the main part. Last summer because of all of the transition, no one around here planted a garden on Memorial Day. I was so grateful for that! I knew that I surely did not want to maintain it, nor did I really know how.
Now, back to where I am now. I think I've had a change of heart... I say think, because I haven't fully acted on it yet to know that it will last. But, even knowing that, I have come to see the benefits of gardening. Even though I still don't really know what I'm doing, which is a tad bit frightening, I've decided to work through the learning curve and plant a garden. With the help of Garrett and our upstairs neighbors, of course. It will be fun! Or at least I keep trying to tell myself that. Wish me luck.
I will be updating this blog with details of my venture through the gardening learning curve - so you can follow my journey!
Here's to Memorial Day planting, and learning to reap what I sow!
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