Diana's side of the story

Reposted from my personal blog.

This year I was super excited about starting my first garden. I think I started dreaming about it last August when it started to turn cold up here in the North Country. I'd had some rather unsuccessful container gardens my first two years of marriage. I seem to grow flowers beautifully, but my veggies never produced much. The first year I blamed that on the yucky city air, and the second on the gorgeous new born. :-)

So this year, our first year in a house, instead of a cramped apartment, and the first year in the actual country I had BIG plans. BIG plans that amounted to a list of stuff I wanted to grow, advice from my awesomely amazing 86 year old grandma, and half flowers, half veggies and more ideas than I could ever imagine having time for. Caring for a home and these two adorable, rambunctious toddlers (I'm not at all partial to them, if you can't tell) is so much work, I could just imagine getting frustrated and totally in over my head.

So...I settled for a few pots out front, a wildflower bed out back, a sunflower patch to the side of the house (this has yet to be seen if it happens) and a veggie garden somewhere. Oh yes...somewhere. I needed to figure out where though. Our back yard is pure rock. To the right of the house is our driveway and a cow pasture. Not planting in the front yard because its too close to the road and would just plain look tacky...so to the left of the house it is! There was only one problem...the hill. Its not a huge hill or anything, but would definitely make for some challenges, and since the only part of flat ground we have seems forever away from the house...WHERE WOULD THE GARDEN GO?! I figured maybe I'd just have to forgo my veggie garden plans for the year and do more trips to the farmers' market. Maybe that just sounds easier anyway, because lets face it! I have two toddlers to care for!

My friend of over ten years, Sarah, lives next door. Its a wonderful set up really. We share one VERY large yard between our houses. Anyway...Sarah decided to give gardening a try this year as well. I was still undecided when John knocked on our door that day. John is the farmer, with whom we rent from. He had come to plow our gardens, but he had a plan. Why not do one big garden together instead of separate ones. We both agreed, having never spoken of it together. :-) And off he went to plow our garden in Sarah's side of the yard.

He kept plowing and plowing! WOW. That is one very large garden! Did we really need something that big? Will we ever be able to fill it with my two babes and Sarah's one? Neither of us has ever REALLY gardened alone before...we've read books, magazines, websites...but to actually plant something that large?

Well...now we're in the middle of planting and have decided that we can definitely fill that great big huge garden! :-) I think I can speak for both of us when I say this: we are really having fun at it too! :-)

Want to follow our gardening extravaganza? Visit our new blog: Amateurs Gardening with Toddlers in Tow. :-)