In the weekend, me and Helmī spent some time gardening together, and honestly, those are the moments I want to remember.
We planted beans together — the kind you eat whole with the pod. I made the holes in the soil with a poker, one by one, and Helmī carefully dropped the beans inside. Such a simple little teamwork, but it made the whole task feel lighter and sweeter somehow. She made the label and watered in.
Now I really hope we will have an abundance of beans this year (we had last year!).
Finally, I also planted out the foxgloves. I grew them from seed earlier this year, and they have been struggling for quite a while in the seed-snail like poor little survivors. I honestly wasn’t sure if they would make it.
I think this variety might actually be an annual instead of a perennial, but I’m not completely sure yet. For now, I planted them into the raised beds where I can keep a closer eye on them. If they survive our Latvian winter, maybe next year I’ll move them into the ground permanently.
Lately I’ve been thinking that maybe I want to organize the garden this way:
perennials planted directly into the ground, while vegetables and annual flowers stay in the raised beds.
We’ll see how it all works out in real life — gardening always has its own plans anyway.
Ilze
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Gardening with children is so rewarding. I’ve planted sweet peas with the 1-3 year old children at work this year. It was fun! The “oldest” children (3 years old) helped me re-purpose old milk cartons that we used as pots. Each child got to fill it with soil and plant a few peas. We had them on display in a big window in our art room. This was in mid-April. At the beginning of this week the children planted them outside in our school garden. The 3 year olds, that is in my group built the garden bed all the children planted their peas in. They were so proud!
I bet they was!!! I liked when for mothers day I got marigold plants, that my kids grew in kindergarten 🙂
Bonding time. Lovely.
Recently we visited Riga. We thoroughly enjoyed our stay in your capital.
Riga!!!??? Nice! 200 km away from me 🙂
That sounds like a lovely day of gardening together. Hopefully, the plants all take root well.
Thank you, I hope so too!
Gardening has its own plans is a good point, Ilze. We just need to find our plants’ happy places.
I think I give “a place” 🙂 So they have to survive… Since I have a lot of space… and it’s all terrible – full sun, heavy clay soil… I expect nothing in return… Those few that can be planted in raised beds… will see 🙂
Great teamwork . . . and, the weather must have been reasonable as Helmi’s T-shirt is lovely and summery 🙂 ! It is great when children learn from an early age from where their food comes!
They lough about those who say that potatoes comes from store… I’m sorry, I have to lough as well…
May I laugh as well 🙂 ? I remember being a small kid and going to Tallinn’s open air vegetable market with my Mom – the mostly lady farmers sat on the ground and had everything picked from their farms in bags and boxes around them . . . they loved to talk to small children and oft offered a ‘taste’ 🙂 ! My parents soon explained and when travelling in-between towns they would stop at farms and ask the farmer to show me – well, no supermarket’s in those days but I could see how hard it was to grow the produce 🙂 !!!
It is hard. I do it for myself – for fun, for therapy… but I would never be able to grow food as “business”. I know another Ilze that has BIO-certified small business. She is growing a lot of things there! I’m always amaized! If you have Instagram, you can see more of here “farm” here: https://www.instagram.com/absolut_ilze/
Thanks – shall look up tomorrow – I love Instagram for quick chats and photos from friends but do not post myself! Do you 🙂 ?
I have instagram.. more than one account, but i’m not active there…
Blessed gardening
Thank you, Derrick