Art a Little More Robust-Gardening Archives

December 5, 2017

Creating a Fairy Garden

I am grateful to have drawn this Inspiration Starter out of the jar, for several reasons: I needed an easy task today, and the Divine said Here you go. I have wanted to create a fairy garden for years and have not done so yet. And the simple act of drawing out this slip of paper inspired ideas that took off in a creative direction that I am excited about.

Admittedly, this is not the right time of year to create a fairy garden, also called a miniature garden, outdoors. Tiny living plants are used, along with small structures and cute accessories. I wrote out these Inspiration Starters in July, and today, my garden is sleeping. However, not to be deterred, I found this chilly blustery day perfect for planning out a fairy garden and browsing through pages of ideas.

One of the reasons I have not included a miniature garden yet in my backyard paradise is because I didn’t have a designated space for one. My garden is well established, which means the flowers and grasses and herbs are approaching or at their full size. A tiny garden would be lost among the mature plants. However, as I considered a fairy garden this afternoon, my rusty wheelbarrow came to mind.

This old barrow has housed colorful annuals each summer, but it will make the perfect container for a fairy garden. And it has the added benefit of being movable, so I can wheel it into or out of the sun, depending on what miniature plants I select.

Once I visualized a fairy garden in the rusty old wheelbarrow, the rest came together immediately. I have a huge appreciation and fondness for the Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit stories. The Hobbits are a peaceful, earthy people, who love gardening, good food and tea time. I had found my inspiration for my garden.

I wondered if there were Hobbit Fairy Garden kits or tiny houses at least. There are! I had such fun looking at miniature Hobbit houses and studying fairy gardens in general, to see what kinds of plants are used.

How adorable is this Hobbit Miniature Garden? Can you imagine one set up in a vintage wheelbarrow? I can! Several stores in the Joplin area carry fairy garden supplies. And I found a Hobbit House available through Amazon. They also have just a Hobbit door that could be added to a tiny mound of grass covered dirt.

In addition, I found a huge assortment of accessories. My garden can have tiny light posts, fake veggies, gardening tools, flowerpots, stone walk ways, a pond, a field rock bridge and even a tea set!

I am excited about the plans for a Hobbit Fairy Garden. My playful nature will enjoy combining gardening with this form of creativity. After the first of the year I will begin assembling the components for the garden and dream away until spring arrives. I will look forward to creating a Hobbit Fairy Garden DIY post at that time.

What at first appeared to be an impossible task today quickly transitioned into a fun time of playing and planning and churning out ideas.

I call that a very good day.

October 3, 2017

Pop’s Watermelon Comes to Fruition

Sometimes…perhaps most of the time…it is the simple things in life that bring the most joy, the most pleasure. Earlier this year, in July, I realized I had a volunteer plant growing near my back porch. I identified it as a watermelon vine. Apparently, sitting on the back steps last summer, eating slices of the juicy melon and spitting the seeds into the yard, resulted in a healthy plant.

Seeing the plant evoked precious memories of my grandfather, whom the family called Pop. Pop was a gardener whose green thumb nurtured plants and vegetables into bountiful beauties. And Pop had a wry sense of humor. He teased his grandkids, telling us not to eat the seeds when we sat outside on warm summer evenings, feasting on watermelon. If we did, he warned, with a smile on his face, watermelons would grow in our bellies. Not wanting that to happen, we spit the seeds onto the ground near the front porch. Every summer, volunteer watermelon plants showed up in those flower beds, and Pop allowed them to grow.

Those childhood memories made me smile, as I weeded around my own volunteer plant. In honor of my grandpa, I made a little stick trellis and decorated a piece of concrete, using Pop’s quote about spitting out the seeds.

I cared for that plant all summer, watering it often, watching with interest as the vines grew and snaked across the yard. The vines in Pop’s flower beds rarely produced fruit. I didn’t care if my plant did or didn’t. Just having the plant brought back warm memories of gardening with Pop.

To my surprise, and delight, two watermelons appeared on the vines and continued to grow. I’ve been watching the fruits carefully. When the stems turn brown, the melons are ready to pick.

This morning, the sign for harvesting was present for one of the watermelons. The second melon isn’t ready to pick yet. It is still growing beneath my rusty wheelbarrow. But watermelon number one was plucked and carried into the house.

The fruit was small, and beautiful, and appeared perfect in every way. I confess I was a bit nervous about cutting into it, even though I love dining on watermelon. It was a good sign that the melon cracked, with a pop, when the knife bit into it. With a sense of relief I noted the bright red flesh inside and inhaled the fruity aroma. It was ripe!

The melon was juicy and sweet. I chopped up half of the watermelon and added a couple of slices of cantaloupe, grown in my raised bed garden. I sensed my grandfather’s joy and heard his whispered words, Look at that watermelon. You did it.

I also recalled his teasing admonition, Don’t eat the seeds. I know now that the seeds are safe to eat and even have some health benefits. But I grinned, and stepping out onto the back steps, I deliberately spit seeds onto the ground.

For you, Pop, more watermelon seeds to sink into the soil. May they take root and surprise me next summer with healthy plants that bear fruit.

It was the best watermelon I have ever eaten.

July 8, 2017

Pop’s Watermelon

It is amazing how an ordinary object can unlock memories and strengthen connection with a loved one. Weed-eating in the backyard a couple of days ago, Greg asked me about a plant that was growing near the back steps. He didn’t think it looked like a weed. I glanced at it and agreed it looked more like a flower, or a vining plant, at least.

He left that small area alone and moved on. This morning I wondered about the mystery plant and went outside to examine it more closely. It had grown in the last two days and I recognized it immediately. It is a watermelon plant!

I love watermelon. I have several plants growing in my raised bed garden. This little vine, however, is a volunteer plant, meaning I didn’t plant it…not intentionally anyway.

I was instantly transported back to my childhood. One of my great joys when we visited my grandparents, during the hot summer months, was eating cold, juicy watermelon slices. My grandfather, whom we all called Pop, was such a tease. “Don’t eat the seeds!” he would call out as my sisters, cousins and I carried our treats outside to the front porch. “If you do, a watermelon will grow in your belly.”

Pop holding my grandson, Dayan.

As a wee girl, I believed Pop. I was afraid to swallow those pesky little black and white seeds, carefully picking them out of my melon. If a seed accidentally got in my mouth, I spit it into Pop’s flower bed. Every summer, volunteer watermelon plants would appear among the flowers. Pop didn’t mind. He loved growing things. The watermelon plants were allowed to remain.

Although I no longer believe that a watermelon will grow in my belly if I swallow a seed, I still tend to spit them out. Which, I am sure, is how that little volunteer plant appeared next to the steps. Last summer I sat on my back stoop many times, enjoying a slice of watermelon and the garden views. A seed that I spat out last summer sprouted.

I cleared away the grasses growing around the plant, lessening the competition for nutrients and water. And then I mulched heavily around the base of the vine. Studying my new plant, I felt very tender toward it. Memories of Pop rose, of those balmy summer evenings eating watermelon on the front porch, and also of my grandfather’s love of gardening.

Pop always had a huge vegetable garden behind his house and beds of perennials in the front and side yards. He used to let me help him weed and plant and harvest, and I am sure that my own love of gardening was born as a result. Coming into the house one day, sweaty and tired after working in the garden, Pop exclaimed that he needed more help with the weeding. “You need a couple of hoers,” my mom suggested helpfully. (Say that sentence out loud and you’ll understand why everyone laughed.) Pop was quick to answer, “I don’t think so!”

Inspiration arrived, joining the feelings of tenderness and nostalgia. This little vine is special to me. I decided to treat it with great care. Using garden twine, and twigs left over from Maple Tree, whose gifts continue to be so useful, I created a little trellis for the plant. The twig trellis is decorative really, yet I had so much fun crafting it, and the young plant looks adorable twined around it.

When I cleared away the grass crowding the vine, I uncovered a small triangular slab of concrete resting against the steps. I had another creative idea.

Using colorful art markers, I created a memorial for Pop by including his humorous words. The garden plaque reminds me of my grandfather, and those magical summer days of my childhood. It also reminds me that there is still magic to be found in my life, if I just stay open and know where to look.

I don’t know if this little watermelon vine will produce fruit. I remember that only one small watermelon ever appeared from the many volunteer plants that grew in the flower bed. That’s okay. Pop allowed the vines to thrive and I will do the same, regardless of the outcome.

I am grateful for my grandfather, and for the plant that stirred such memories today. Pop would be pleased that I still spit out watermelon seeds, and that I love gardening as much as he did. This plant is for him. It’s Pop’s watermelon.

June 20, 2017

Summer Colors

Summer is about to begin! In a strange twist, the season shifts late this evening, or very early in the morning, depending on the time zone. Here in Joplin, in the US, summer officially begins tonight at 11:24 pm. Yes…after the sun goes down. No matter! Summer is upon us.

It is a bit confusing whether today’s Summer Solstice was the longest day, or if tomorrow will get that designation. Either way, I was grateful for the extra minutes of sunlight, after a busy day. I needed to water the garden.

I simply adore being in the garden as the sun is setting. The heat evaporates out of the air. The colors are vivid. It truly is the most beautiful time to appreciate the flowers and plants.

I’ve neglected my garden a bit lately. This is a busy time of year for realtors. I definitely need to pluck out some weeds and plant a few more flowers. However, does my garden hold a grudge? No. It is a wild and gorgeous thing right now, with brilliant colors erupting in the beds and containers and borders. The flowers do what they are created to do. They bloom…joyfully it seems.

As I watered containers, and pulled weeds, I allowed the wildness of the garden to call to me. Something untamed in me rose to answer that call. I too am doing what I am created to do, growing, blooming, offering who I am in response to life, and light, and roots that have gone deep.

Before the sun disappeared completely, my garden and I welcomed summer. I accepted the peace and contentment that washed over me. I marveled at the riotous colors that didn’t compete but complemented each other. I opened my heart to all the promises of the season. I expressed deep gratitude.

Jenny Uglow wrote, “We might think we are nurturing our garden, but of course it’s our garden that is really nurturing us.”

My garden nurtured me tonight, on the eve of summer. As dusk deepened, I gathered fresh mint from the herb garden for a celebratory cup of tea. I toast you, golden summer. Welcome.

May 10, 2017

Planting Veggies in the Raised Bed

I was grateful today for help preparing the raised garden bed for planting. The cedar box was completed Monday. All that was lacking was soil and then I could plant the health boosting veggies grouped on my deck.

My friend Tim arrived this morning with his pickup truck, and a wllingness to help. He and Greg spent time checking out the best options for dirt to fill the 4×8 boxes, one for me and one for my sister Linda. I appreciate both of them taking time out of their days to offer assistance.

The best option available was bringing in a truckload of rich compost, which is provided free of charge by the city. And then adding a truckload of topsoil, available by the scoop from The Rock Yard, in Joplin.

Thanks to Greg and Tim, the raised beds were ready to plant. I had a commitment this afternoon. And Linda had not arrived home yet from work. We were splitting some 4 packs of veggies but Linda had several favorites she still wanted to purchase. We intended to get together this evening, when we were both available, to complete her purchases and then plant our garden beds.

Before leaving the house, I used the fun plant chart I created to lay out the veggies and melons. My gray cat Angel was intrigued by the box full of dirt and insisted on “helping”. I was excited to sow seeds and dig in my new garden, getting the plants in before dark.

My only concern was the weather. I checked my phone’s weather app frequently throughout the day. Thunderstorms were expected late this evening, settling in for the day tomorrow. I really wanted to get the plants into the bed before the rain began.

One certainty about Missouri is that the weather can shift quickly. I watched the sky darken as I headed home. The line of thunderstorms appeared to be arriving earlier than expected. I don’t mind gardening in a light to moderate rain. I don’t work outside though when lightning is present.

My sister and I were headed to her house with her newly purchased plants when the first bolt of lightning forked from cloud to ground. A rumble of thunder followed. Darn! Plans shifted with the arrival of the first storm. Linda dropped me off at my house.

So close! I had plants laid out, ready to go. I just needed 30 minutes to get them tucked into the dirt. I can be very stubborn in my determination. Tomorrow’s forecast is 100% thunderstorms. Friday’s is 50%. I eyed the mass of gray clouds, watched the weather app as the front moved through, and checked in intuitively.

I am not recommending that anyone else challenge the weather, especially when lightning is present. The line of thunderstorms moved off to the south. Although there was a light, steady rain falling, a planting window of opportunity appeared, free from lightning. I went for it.

I was scattering the last packets of seeds when the light rain became heavier and lightning flickered again to the southwest. Time to finish up. I snapped a pic and took cover, just as the next front rolled through. Perfect timing.

Drink up little bedded plants!

May 8, 2017

Creating a Raised Bed Garden

Taking advantage of continuing warm weather with an abundance of sunshine, I spent another day working in the garden. Using materials picked up yesterday, I created raised bed garden boxes, with a great deal of help from Greg, one for me and one for my sister Linda.

I found a raised bed garden box that I liked, in a Country Gardens magazine. With dimensions of 4’x8′ and sides 16″ high, this box seems perfect for growing vegetables using the square foot gardening method. I used 6′ cedar fencing planks to create the box. Greg had left over pressure treated 2x4s from when he built the privacy fence. Cut into sections, they anchored the corners of the box and covered the seams on the sides.

Three of the 6′ cedar planks were cut to form the 4′ ends. The 2′ leftover sections were added to the remaining 6′ lengths, staggering the seams for strength and durability, to create the longer 8′ sides. Greg ran the saw, thankfully, and in a short time, the boards were cut and ready to be assembled.

We completed one box at a time. There was some contemplation and figuring out the best way to fasten the sides together, amid laughter and frequent breaks to guzzle bottles of water. However, we got a system going and I even used the drill to help sink the screws.

The 8′ sides

The 4′ sections

After all four sides were completed on the first box, we began making my sister’s raised bed box. I’m proud of Linda for choosing to eat healthier and being willing to grow vegetables. She is committed to taking her own healing journey.

With all the sides completed, I was excited to create my box. I don’t have space in the backyard for this raised bed. Instead, this garden is going on the sunny south side of the house, where roses used to be. Japanese beetles destroyed the roses last year. Into that blank space the raised garden box fit perfectly. We finished assembling the box in minutes.

A friend is helping early Wednesday by bringing 5 cubic yards of dirt in his truck, to fill the box. He will generously tote Linda’s box to her backyard and deliver another load of dirt to her.

I am ready! I have vegetable plants waiting on the deck and four packets of seeds to sow. I love that my healing journey has inspired me to grow my own veggies again. It has been many years since I tended anything other that flower and herb gardens. Part of taking better care of myself is to eat lots of fresh fruits and vegetables. How fun it will be to harvest healthy goodness from my own raised bed garden.

May 6, 2017May 7, 2017

Garden Celebrations

On this gorgeous spring day, there was no way I was staying indoors. My backyard garden was calling to me, and after days of rain recently, I was happy to answer that call. As it happened, there were two unique garden related holidays today. I particpated in both, for the first time!

The first celebration I was mindful of was Herb Day. Established 12 years ago, the intention of this holiday is to raise awareness for using herbs, for both culinary and medicinal purposes. To celebrate was easy…plant herbs, or cook with them, or create a craft using these pungent plants.

I already have a well established apothecary, or herbal, garden. However, visiting garden centers early this morning, I picked up two varieties of basil, another rosemary plant, and parsley. I tucked those into the ground this afternoon.

Sweet basil and purple basil.

I was still thinking about the second holiday, wavering back and forth on whether I would participate or not. As I mulled it over, I dragged more of Maple Tree’s gifts, hollowed out stumps and solid limb sections, to bare spots in the garden. I have enjoyed repurposing these chunks of maple, creating cute natural planters and stands for potted flowers and herbs.

How attractive is this new grouping?! This is now the first thing I see when I open the back door and it makes me smile.

I broke for lunch, sitting on the brickio with a bowl of chopped salad, surveying my garden. I love this backyard paradise. It is ever changing, growing, filling in. The garden brings me so much joy and fills me with peace and contentment.

As I finished my salad I returned to thinking about the second holiday. May 6 is also World Naked Gardening Day. For real! Established in 2005, this event is intended to inspire gardeners to plant, weed and tend to their gardens, in the buff. The focus is on having fun while developing a positive self image.

Says one of the founders, “It’s not about exposing your body to other people, it’s about body acceptance and being one with nature on your own. We actually do these events in secluded areas.”

I am not in a secluded area. I live in the middle of town, with neighbors on either side of me. Although I have been intrigued by Naked Gardening Day for several years, it seemed impossible for me to participate. As I considered options, my eyes were drawn to my corner meditation area. Enclosed on two sides with a wooden privacy fence, the other two sections are made of metal fencing, which are currently covered in clematis blossoms. There is a narrow opening leading into the small secluded area.

As soon as I decided to observe World Naked Gardening Day, my mind began to chatter, coming up with all the reasons why I shouldn’t: Naked outside? What will people think? What if someone comes into the backyard unexpectedly? Why do you even want to try this?

I shrugged and laughed…and kept filling containers with flowering annuals. But often I turned to look speculatively at the meditation area. Finally I walked into it. With the flowering clematis vines covering the fencing, it was hidden from view entirely from the neighbors on the south. And with a sheet hanging over the entrance, the area would be completely private from the neighbors to the north. And…I had a flat of white impatiens ready to plant in metal containers in that area. I made up my mind. I was going to participate in Naked Gardening Day!

And participate I did, saving those containers until last to plant. I showered to rinse off the day’s grime, lit candles throughout the garden, and brewed myself a cup of thyme tea. Wrapped in my yellow and blue sarong, I hung a white sheet over the little garden area entrance…and then removed the wrap. Greg graciously snapped a pic from outside the meditation garden and then left me to enjoy my final gardening tasks and my herbal tea.

There are many reasons why I decided to join in on this unusual celebration. I love nature and being natural. I like to challenge myself to try new experiences that move me beyond my comfort zone. I don’t want be governed by what other people think. I felt inspired by my day in the garden to savor a time of vulnerability and openness and solitude. Mostly though, in the past 10 months, as I have become healthier and healthier, I have become very attuned to my body. I appreciate how strong and fit and vibrant my body is becoming and I feel very at ease with who I am and my outward appearance. I am okay being in my skin.

To keep the experience authentic, I planted the impatiens in the metal containers. I gardened in the nude. And when that task was completed, I sat in a garden chair and sipped my hot tea. A breeze stirred around me and rippled my sheet covering the entrance! I had to weigh down the sheet’s edge with a metal table. But I thoroughly enjoyed my time in the cool of the day as the sun set, in my paradise, my Eden, naked and unashamed.

I think shame has a lot to do with people being uncomfortable in their own skins. Shame surrounding their bodies accompanied by the fear of not looking good enough or lacking in some way. Naked Gardening Day is a non sexual experience. It is a personal time of being in nature while being au naturel. Naked and unashamed. Relaxed and at peace. Quietly joyful and completely accepting.

Wrapped again in my sarong, I exited the meditation area, jubilant about my long happy day in the garden. The sun had set. The moon was high overhead. Candlelight twinkled throughout the garden. My heart was full.

I am not waiting until the first Saturday in May next year, to enjoy this freedom enhancing experience again.

April 25, 2017April 25, 2017

Maple’s Gift to the Garden

I enjoyed time in my backyard garden this afternoon. After a weekend of heavy rains, the sunshine today was welcome. And the ground was damp still, which created ideal conditions for a necessary gardening task…weeding.

Wearing long sleeves and gloves for protection, I tackled a much needed project…removing miniature clumps of ornamental grasses that were popping up all over the garden. This wasn’t my typical puttering in the backyard. This was hard work, using both a hand shovel and a larger spade to dig up those tenacious little grasses.

But all work and no play is never my intention. After the last blade of grass was tossed into the bin, it was time for some gardening fun, and a special project that warmed my heart.

On the first day of spring this year, the big old maple tree that overhung my backyard came down. Twisted and damaged in the 2011 tornado that struck Joplin, the tree was dying. Large pieces of bark were peeling off and the huge limbs were hollowing out. The tree presented a danger to my house and the neighbor’s home. As sad as I was to see the tree cut down, it was the right action.

The rotten crumbling pieces of wood were disposed of. Greg cut up other portions into firewood that could be burned in the fire pit. And some of the trunk sections and bigger limbs he set aside for my creative use. This afternoon I turned my attention to what remained of maple tree.

I chose a couple of large maple sections with hollowed out areas, and a smaller solid branch, and positioned them in a bare spot in the garden. The hollow areas sparked my imagination. I could see these two cut up branches serving as planters. The smaller third section was the perfect size to hold a potted plant or flower.

I used a bag of top soil to fill in the hollowed logs. And then the fun began as I considered which flowering and non-flowering plants to create with.

I planted colorful vinca and white salvia in the taller of the two hollow logs. In the shorter section I tucked sweet potato vines around yellow calibrachoa. And perched on the solid plant stand is a pot of aromatic garden sage. I settled another small pot of yellow calibrachoa next to my new planter.

I am so thrilled with how this grouping turned out. I like the way the maple planters look in the garden. But most of all, I love that these unique garden accents came from the maple tree that shaded my yard for years.

These planters and the stand are temporary. They will age and weather and the wood will break down, becoming rich mulch and compost in my garden. For those reasons, I planted annuals within them.

These are amazing gifts from maple tree. I will enjoy the planters and the stand this summer. And my garden will then benefit from the deteriorating wood as the tree returns to the earth from which it sprang.

What a beautiful legacy. Thank you maple tree.

April 15, 2017April 16, 2017

First Spring Plantings

Naturalist John Muir wrote, “Spring work is going on with joyful enthusiasm.” His words beautifully capture my day. Taking advantage of gorgeous weather and a half price sale at a local garden center, I started my spring gardening in earnest today, planting in metal containers in the backyard.

Spring is my favorite time of year. Trees bloom or leaf out, the days are warmer and longer and my garden awakens. Most of my backyard paradise is planted in herbs and perennials that return year after year. However, I have 30 plus containers that I fill with colorful annuals. I officially launched the gardening season today, beginning with a cluster of metal buckets and tubs.

Colorful annuals ready for planting

Blank “canvases”, ready for color.

I have enjoyed using a variety of metal containers in the backyard. They are grouped around the brickio, tucked into corners, perched on vintage chairs and even attached to the fence. Most of these industrial planters were flea market finds. I love the two big washtubs that I have, and I started by planting in one of those, filling it with canary yellow and midnight blue calibrachoa.

Next I filled Annie’s tub. My cousins gave me this oval metal tub after my aunt passed. It means a great deal to me, as Aunt Annie was a gardener too. In honor of her July 4th birthday, I plant red, white and blue flowers in Annie’s tub every year, changing the plants according to what I can find. This year the tub was planted with red pentas, and white and brilliant blue lobelia.

White portulaca went into the metal watering can and shared space in a bucket with red gazania. The gazanias filled the remaining buckets except for the tall metal container. Yellow calendula is coming up in that canister, sprouting from last year’s seed.

I was pleased with the results. I only filled six containers, but that’s okay. It is a start and like traveling, the joy is in the journey, enthusiastic joy, as John Muir called it. Although thunderstorms are in tomorrow’s forecast, I hope to get several more containers planted.

I ended this perfect spring day, spent working in the garden, by lighting a fire in the fire pit. There is still something so magical to me about laying out kindling and bark and setting it ablaze. The sun disappeared as my little fire crackled merrily. I fed it with larger branches and then short split logs, well seasoned.

Such contentment and deep bliss filled me, sitting there in the backyard garden, watching the flames dance. Overhead the first twinkling star appeared, a tiny flame in the darkening sky. “Star light, star bright, first star I see tonight, I wish I may, I wish I might, have the wish I wish tonight…” I softly chanted aloud. So many times I whispered those words as a child. So many of those wishes have come true.

I smiled as I sent another wish up….up with the smoke curling from the fire…and out among the stars.

April 13, 2017

Planning a Raised Bed Garden

As my backyard gardens are beautifully springing back to life, I am turning my attention to a new gardening project. In the backyard I have a variety of flowers, ornamental grasses and herbs growing. I planned this personal paradise five years ago with great care and deliberately excluded vegetables.

And then last year, foreshadowing the shift my life was about to take, a volunteer tomato plant mysteriously appeared among my showy perennials. Assuming a bird flying overhead had gifted me with this plant, I was amused and allowed it to grow. Over the course of the summer that little surprise tomato plant grew to become a massive, sprawling producer of delicious cherry tomatoes.

When I switched to a plant based lifestyle in July, I looked at that tomato plant speculatively, amazed at the timing of this nudge from the Divine. Perhaps it was time to rethink growing my own vegetables.

I don’t have an empty spot in the backyard to add a vegetable garden. However, walking around outside, I found the perfect location south of the house in a side garden. Last year I lost the rose bushes in that spot to swarms of Japanese beetles. I now envisioned a 4X8 raised garden bed occupying that sunny space.

I found a simple plan for building the raised bed, using cedar to create 16 inch sides. I like the idea of a raised bed and planting a variety of vegetables close together within it. The concept is called square foot gardening.

An example of raised garden beds, from Country Gardens Magazine.

And now the fun, creative part began for me. This evening I used graph paper to lay out a 4 foot by 8 foot bed, dividing it into squares. I enjoyed thinking about what vegetables to plant and how foundational veggies have become in my life.

At first I wrote the names of the vegetables into the squares as I laid out my new garden. And then a lovely idea came to mind. I felt inspired to sketch the veggies and color them in with my colored pencils.

I love how a surprise tomato plant in my garden last year has inspired me to grow my own vegetables this year. I already grow a multitude of herbs that support my health on this healing journey I am on. Producing veggies seems like a natural next step.

And I love how planning a raised bed garden allowed my creative side, my inner artist, to join in and play. Sure, sketching and coloring in little vegetables took more time than simply writing the words. However, that’s what this year is all about…creating robust art, while creating more robust health. And as a plus, tonight’s project made me feel very tender toward myself, and my journey, and the beautiful and mysterious Divine.