How Does Your Garden Grow?

by Heather Ford-Helgeson

Heather's Raised Garden - early June 2012

If you read my previous post, you'll know that I started my first vegetable garden this year; a raised bed pictured above. Though small, it is causing big changes. I absolutely love it. If I want some herbs, I go pick them. If I want a salad, I go pick from my variety of greens. Most of the tomato plants are next to the raised bed and I also planted some corn there. The chipmunks got almost all the corn but the tomato plants are thriving and if all goes well, my family will have a plethora of juicy ones from which to pick. Every morning I water and tend to my plants almost as lovingly as I do my two-year-old. There is no doubt I am hooked and I have already mapped out an area in my back yard of which I am going to dig up in the fall for next years LARGE vegetable garden adventure; Can. Hardly. Wait.


I am constantly on the look-out now for urban vegetable growers and I'm amazed by people's use of space. A young guy in my South Minneapolis neighborhood has turned his entire boulevard into a vegetable garden. A couple in the same area put a couple of raised beds in their side yard, mixing it in with their landscaping.  There's a woman around the corner from me who has turned her front-yard into one large food-producing garden and made it beautiful to-boot and a couple of blocks from me a family has turned all the land next to their garage into a huge garden. I have seen window boxes turned into herb gardens, planters used entirely for tomatoes, planters with mixed vegetables and flowers, wheel-barrows as raised beds, large tires filled with tomato and bean plants, and one of our long-time clients had HSG transplant a bunch of her perennials that were next to her pool and then turned the whole area into a vegetable garden. These are but a few examples of great ingenuity.

Are you tending to your own produce garden? Please tell us about it in the comment section below. We love to hear about what you're growing and how it's going. You can also ask us any questions you have on any of your gardening needs.

Great growing and we will write again soon.

If You Build It...

by Heather Ford-Helgeson

Hello everyone!  It is so good to be back garden blogging again and all of us at Home Sown Gardens look forward to writing for and with you this year. The winter here in Minnesota was mild and many of us are a bit apprehensive about what this may mean for our spring and summer. But we have no control anyway so better to be optimistic and enjoy every warm minute we get.

If spring is any indication, this could be a stellar year of gardening.  I'm looking out my window right now and I'm amazed at the size of my hosta, peonies, tiger lilies, and my grapevine is heavy with leaves...(oh, and the grass needs some serious attention, yikes, I'll have to get on that.) Anyway, my landscaping is looking good so now I can move on to the project I've been looking forward to all winter; building raised beds for vegetables.

If you receive the Home Sown Gardens Newsletter hopefully you have read our piece on easy-to-build raised garden beds. HSG's hope is to inspire as many of you as possible to give a try at vegetable gardening this season and tell us how you do by emailing us. In fact, we urge you to share any of your gardening experiences and questions with us and periodically throughout the season we will post your findings and comments in this blog as part of a section we are calling Garden Share. 

I will keep you posted on my progress and I hope you keep us posted on yours. Good gardening luck to you all and you'll hear from one of us again soon.

Thankful

by Heather Ford-Helgeson

I like to think that most of us remember to be thankful more than once a year, that we don't necessarily need a holiday in order to give thanks for everything and everyone we have in our lives. Never-the-less, having a whole day in which to concentrate on being thankful is not such a bad idea; a whole day to spend with family and friends, to appreciate good and comforting food, to spend time with those we don't see enough throughout the year, to remember loved ones who are no longer with us, and to give extra hugs and kisses to those that are. Regardless of what the true origin of Thanksgiving is and how we feel about it, what we do with the day now is what matters most.

Up until a few years ago, I wasn't much for traditions and holidays and such. They often felt too obligatory and seemed kind of a bore.  I have grown up, though, and realized what a blessing it is to have family with whom to spend the holidays and that it is all about how we approach these days together and what we do during them.  I don't want any formalities and expectations other than fun, food and family and my guess is that is how most people enjoy the holidays best; no pomp, no circumstance, just lightheartedness and celebration.

When walking into a holiday home, what makes it all complete is a cozy atmosphere with heavenly scented air, good music in the background, familiar voices and laughter. I also love it when everyone pitches in to make the food. Somebody brings the appetizers, someone else brings the wine, another makes the breads and sweet treat, others create the sides, and one or a couple take on the main course.  A collaboration adds to the cohesive theme of any holiday.

If there's kids coming, the more fun for them, the better time everyone has, so I love it when there's toys, games, movies, and such about because then there's lots more laughter and squeals, which are the best ambiance to any holiday.

So, here's to you and yours. May your days be cheery and bright and may your holidays be full of everything that makes you happy, and thankful.

Best wishes to one and all.