I love to garden.  Some of my happiest gardening memories are early in the spring when the sun has just risen. The sky is a beautiful orange hue, the birds are singing and the air is silent. I love the smell of the fresh earth trying to burst forth with new life as it sheds the winter’s cold.

spring garden spring garden

After a long winter, I love tilling the soil and planting various seeds. I like to stand back and look at the stakes with burlap strings which mark the rows; I think how soon a miracle will happen and these little seeds will sprout into the tiniest, most fragile plants. I particularly like to watch the first peas of the season. Peas are usually the first thing that comes up in my garden. I get a thrill standing at the vine and eating the first pods. Oh, the sweet, fresh taste!

A little later in the season, I enjoy hoeing weeds around the tomato plants. The unique smell is hard to resist - sometimes I pinch off a little leaf and rub it between my fingers. Why don’t they make women’s perfume from tomatoes?

spring gardenspring garden

Late summer is when I like to pick cucumbers and turn them into pickles. I buy some dill, garlic and vinegar. Sometimes my daughter and I preserve pickles together. It’s easy, fun and they keep very well in the pantry. One of the last things I do in my garden before the Autumn takes over is to dig up potatoes. It’s extremely satisfying to dig up large hunks of tubers and store them in burlap sacks in a cool part of our barn or garage.

~Kim