Our Little Garden

Our garden is growing!!! That makes us happy. :) We were so excited to see a garden plot when we moved into our new place; it was practically the selling point.  Last year, many of you know, we shared a garden with Austin & Amy Smith and Daniel & Jessica Clay. This year, we have jumped into trying new things and experimenting with plants we've never grown before. So far, so good:

Our little pink plant in the middle is growing like a weed as well ;)

Romaine Lettuce

 Yellow and White Onions

 Tomatoes

 Jalapeno Peppers (see the little guy on top?)

 Bell Peppers

 Artichokes

 Strawberries (see the growing yellow ones?)

 Basil and Cilantro

 Watermelon

 Yellow Squash and Zucchini

 Green Beans

 Sweet Corn 

(a lot of our corn didn't grow the first time around, but the second time it sprouted right away, so we'll have it late in the season)

 A random squash plant sitting in the row of beans. We have no idea how it got there. haha oops.

 Rose Bushes (we have 3 of them)

 Sydney bean- she thinks she's a plant too. (see her tan line? lol)

 

 Our Flower garden. The color scheme was supposed to be red, white, and blue with a yellow accent, but the yellow has become more dominant and the white flowers haven't bloomed yet (and the plant in the left corner died). Oh well, it was my first shot at a flower garden, I'm just happy it's alive. I'll get better every year. :)

In the spiritual sense, we feel good about gardening because we feel like we are doing what God's asked us to do.  President Spencer W. Kimball said: 

“We encourage you to grow all the food that you feasibly can on your own property. Berry bushes, grapevines, fruit trees—plant them if your climate is right for their growth. Grow vegetables and eat them from your own yard. Even those residing in apartments or condominiums can generally grow a little food in pots and planters. Study the best methods of providing your own foods. Make your garden … neat and attractive as well as productive. If there are children in your home, involve them in the process with assigned responsibilities” (in Conference Report, Apr. 1976, 170–71; or Ensign, May 1976, 124).

Gardening is made to teach many things: how to appreciate work, appreciate and eat healthier, remember earth's natural beauty, creates family unity, reduces expenses, and teaches us how to be self-sufficient. 

President Spencer W. Kimball said that gardening will “remind us all of the law of the harvest. … We do reap what we sow. Even if the plot of soil you cultivate, plant, and harvest is a small one, it brings human nature closer to nature as was the case in the beginning with our first parents” (in Conference Report, Apr. 1976, 117; or Ensign, May 1978, 77–78).

Our perspective is, in addition to what our prophet said, is that if we do our part, then God will take care of the rest.  If the time comes that we will need to live off our own productions and food storage, then we feel if we do all that we can, God will take care of what we could not (2 Nephi 25:23) and we will be okay.

 

Lastly, with gardening we also get to experience the miracle of a tiny seed growing into a giant masterpiece.  

“There have been very few years in my life when I have not been responsible for a garden. Even now as a city condominium dweller, I still plant and harvest a garden each year . . . . Each spring as I look over an insignificant, small seed and place it in a well-prepared seed bed, I marvel at how much it will produce.” —Elder L. Tom Perry of the Quorum of the Twelve, “The Law of the Harvest,” New Era, Oct.1980, 4