Growing Children

Our first summer out here, we didn't plant a garden because we didn't get all moved in and settled until the last week of July. (Yes, this is the house as we came to it...quite a bit different now.)

Our second summer, we did plant a garden. The kids loved it. They planted corn, peas, carrots, beans, pumpkins, butternut squash, and tomatoes. The rabbits loved it to. And the squirrels thought it rocked. The chipmunks thought we were wonderful people. And our little deer family, who lived in the back field that year became so at home in our backyard that the daddy would casually walk along my flower beds eating the blossoms...he especially liked the red petunias. The wildlife did leave us a few tomatoes, squash, and 4 pumpkins...but they devoured everything else. This, however, did not discourage the kids from going out nearly every day to weed, water, and...watch the plants grow. As the bunnies and gang would clear out more garden space, our children also had more space to plant peach pits, apple cores, banana peels, and old grapes in an attempt to plant a fruit orchard. Needless to say, our harvest was not very fruitful...thank goodness for Giant Eagle's produce section.

Our third summer, we actually went out to Idaho to visit...we figured after two years, we needed to know that the Rockies still existed outside of our memories and imaginations. I cried when we finally got onto I-15, and for the first time in my life, sagebrush looked really nice.

We decided that planting a garden would be useless because we'd be gone for three weeks, and by the time we got back the plants would all be eaten anyway. So, we skipped the garden planting. Before we left, our elderly Jewish neighbor, Harvey, who likes to give me lots of free gardening "opinions"...it's really not advice....it's his opinion on what flowers he thinks I should plant each year...and each year I smile and then plant whatever I feel like, well Harvey told me that we should plant a garden, and that my roses were dead. I know, random. But...we did not plant a garden that year, and my roses flourished.

This is our final summer here. After much debate, we decided to once again plant a produce section for the local wildlife. Except this year, we thought we'd make it open only for the especially gifted and talented wildlife by putting up a fence around it. It will be interesting to see what our harvest is like. The kiddos were so excited to plant their garden again. We did make straight rows...but I don't know how many of the seeds actually got into the rows, and I do believe that some of the corn seeds accidentally got tossed over Harvey's fence...so Harvey may be pleasantly surprised to have some Mormon corn. He did make a point to come over and inform Andy that after examining our garden, he thinks the rows are too close together. Thank you Harvey. But the point really isn't to see how many carrots we can salvage from the bunnies, or how many ears of corn we can get, or even how many big red juicy tomatoes we can pick right from the vine...the point is...well?

1. "The Prophet said to plant a garden, so that's what we'll do!" (see primary children's songbook)

2. When the kids are busy pulling plants (oops, I mean weeds, of course they don't pull up the plants) then they're not busy playing computer games, or watching movies, etc.

3. When the kids are busy digging in dirt, then they are learning about bugs, and earthworms...you know, it's science in action.

4. The kids love watching the little seeds turn into plants...and when it's "their" garden, they really do take ownership of it and learn responsibility.

5. If nothing else, we get to carve huge pumpkins at Halloween right from our own backyard, now what is better than that?

6. It gives Andy an excuse to get out the chainsaw and clear out the dead wood from the golf course trees...because somehow clearing out dead wood greatly reduces the number of bunnies who get into the garden.

7. It gives Sherrie an excuse to NOT go on as many grocery runs...because someday the plants will bear fruit, right??

8. It gives the neighbors something to gossip about...the neighborhood kids something to wonder at, the neighborhood wildlife their very own produce section, and Harvey something to give advice about...thereby bringing a sense of fulfillment to the entire neighborhood. In fact, I think in future, gardens will be more popular sources of neighborhood togetherness than block parties.

9. Okay, I was going for ten...but didn't make it. I know...you readers can fill in the last two great points of planting a garden...come on, let's have it!