A Billet Mom Talks About What A Garden Means To Her

A Billet Mom Loves Spring and Planting Her Garden

Spring has arrived, my favourite time of the year.  Everything is coming to life!  The grass is green, the flowers are out in full bloom, the trees have leaves and the birds are singing.  Now I can get outdoors and work in my garden.  I love working up the soil and planting my garden.  It’s fun deciding what to grow and purchasing my seeds and plants.

During the winter I am looking forward to spring so I can get my lettuce, onions and peas planted.  These can be planted as soon as you can work the ground.  They thrive in the cold ground.  I always wait until May 2-4 weekend or after before planting the rest of my vegetables.

Green Onions and Lettuce are usually the first pickings from my garden.  Here is my recipe for Spring Salad that I make as soon as they are ready.

Garden Memories

I have gardened since I was old enough to hold a hoe.  We had two huge gardens and they had to be looked after.  At a very early age I helped in the garden and I never minded.  I was taught how to tell the difference between a vegetable plant and a weed.  I loved planting, weeding and watching the plants grow.  The best part of all was when I got to pick all those wonderful, fresh vegetables and enjoy eating them.

I remember in January or February Mother handing me the Seed Catalogue so I could select what vegetables I wanted to plant.  I spent hours figuring out what seeds to order.  Even when I left home and lived on my own I still looked forward to going through that catalogue.

When I was in 4-H I had a garden and my garden was voted one of the best in our county.  I was so proud of it and spent hours getting rid of those pesky weeds.  I loved tending to it and hoed out every weed that dared to poke its head through the ground.   I recall having to grow a vegetable that we had never eaten before.  I selected Swiss chard and I must admit I never liked it and never grew it again.  I gave away as much of it as I could.

Apartment Garden

When I left home I wasn’t happy without a garden.  I continued to drive out to see my parents and help in the garden but it just wasn’t the same.  With my working schedule I sometimes didn’t get out.  I even helped my cousin with a garden at my Aunts place just so I could garden.

I shared a garden with my neighbour. She knew someone that had a garden but didn’t feel like looking after it.  We took it over and I remember bringing home garbage bags full of produce from that garden.  We had so many beans we couldn’t even give them away.

I even talked the local Church into letting me use the garden at the manse.  My Mother was getting older and living in the city now but she still liked to garden.  This was great for both of us and I know how much she enjoyed our time together.

Finally when I had no where else to garden I grew my vegetables on my balcony.  I was so proud of my balcony garden.  The vegetables I grew included lettuce, onions, green peppers, tomatoes, peppers and cucumbers.  There wasn’t a better feeling then stepping out on my balcony and picking a fresh, juicy tomato off the vine.  I liked growing the vegetables which are meant for limited space.  These still tasted good and as they took up less space I could grow even more vegetables.  Here are some suggestions for growing in limited spaces and this article gives ideas for small space gardening.

A Garden In The City

I live in the city but I still have a vegetable garden.  I love flowers but unfortunately don’t have much success growing them.  Vegetables are what I love to grow and eat of course.  Have you ever compared home grown vegetables with store bought?  There is no comparison the home grown ones are far better plus you have the satisfaction that you grew them yourself.  My garden is small but I still manage to grow carrots, lettuce, onions, tomatoes, cucumber, peas peppers, spinach and beans.  Yum, Yum I love eating fresh treats from my garden!

Don’t worry if you have limited space in your yard.  You can plant vegetables in flower beds or containers.  The containers can be placed on the deck or patio.  This article talks about how to garden in the city.

In many cities garden plots are available for a small fee.  This is great for people like myself that love to garden but just don’t have space.

A Billet Mom Is Glad She Has A Garden

As a Billet Mom I was glad that I grew vegetables and always hoped for a Billet Son who loved them.  From June to October I serve fresh vegetables from my garden.  But there is one problem, they all come at once.  Why can’t they ripen a few days apart?  No they don’t, you will go to pick a tomato and find you have a dozen or more ready to be picked.

I reap the benefits from my garden and freeze a lot of my vegetables to enjoy throughout the winter months.  When I have a basket of tomatoes I make tomato sauce and nothing beats the taste.  I freeze it to have later and use it up for pre-game meals.

I ate fresh vegetables from my garden until I thought I would end up looking like one of them.  As a Billet Mom there were times I think I reflected my vegetables.  You know, as red as a tomato or beet red from an embarrassing situation.  Read about some of my embarrassing situations here.

Gardening Is Good For the Mind and Body

Working in my garden gives me peace of mind.  I can get away from everyone and everything.  I spend hours in it and it gives me time to reflect on my day, make plans for the next day or just relax.  I find that gardening is not only good for the mind but gives you a good workout as well.   Gardening is a hobby of mine that really does help me relax.  At times I would go to my garden and hoe like a mad lady just to blow off some steam.  It always helped me relieve some of my stress.  There is nothing that makes me happier then digging in the dirt, planting and watching my garden come to life.  For me, gardening is the greatest hobby there is.

Gardening Isn’t For Everyone!

You couldn’t care less about gardening and would never want to garden.  You just don’t have any interest in it and it looks like too much work.  Fine no problem, you don’t have to grow vegetables to enjoy the freshness and goodness of them.  Not everyone is a gardener or wants to be one.  However, don’t miss the opportunity to enjoy fresh grown vegetables.  Let someone else do all the work and purchase them from your local market.  Make sure you buy local, home grown.  You will notice a big difference between the ones you buy at your local store and the fresh grown ones. Enjoy the benefits even if you don’t garden.

Pets Love Vegetables from the Garden

We had a dog that would rather eat vegetables then dog food.  She ate carrots, cucumbers, cauliflower, broccoli, peas and even radishes.  She turned her nose up at celery but was crazy for cucumbers and would eat a whole cucumber if we let her!  Yet another family pet wouldn’t eat vegetables but loved fruit especially oranges and apples.

A lot of dog treats contain Vegetables or Fruit.  Some of the common ones are: Apples, Carrots, Sweet Potato and Carrots.  Many brands of dog food contain fruits and vegetables as well.

If your dog likes fruits and vegetables it is great as most are good for them in moderation of course.  Unfortunately, not all Fruits and Vegetables are good for dogs and cats.  This article explains what is good for your pet and what isn’t.

Gardening Makes You Proud and Satisfied

Having a garden can make you proud and gives you a sense of satisfaction.  Like the first time you pick a nice juicy tomato, slice it up and put it on the table for everyone to enjoy.  How about picking a handful of peas or beans?  My peas never made it to the table.  How about picking a cucumber off the vine or pulling a carrot out of the ground?  These are times that really do make you feel proud.  You grew it yourself and you really have accomplished something.

Believe it or not a garden is fairly easy to maintain.  With a little bit of hoeing or maybe a lot depending on the weeds and watering your garden will bring you lots of produce.    By growing everything yourself gardening will give you personal satisfaction and a feeling of accomplishment.  You and your family will reap the benefits.