Why I Love My Garden & Why My Husband Hates It

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A few months ago I shared my garden preparations for the season with you all. It was the very beginning of the growing season but I wanted to share it because I’m always interested in other’s gardening progress too. I enjoy reading and browsing through posts and pictures of other’s gardens for ideas and inspiration. I love my garden and it’s really inspirational and relaxing to me. My husband on the other hand…he hates it!

I love planting my vegetables from seed, tending to them, watching them grow and then enjoying them in our favorite meals. I think there is nothing better than homegrown food. I also feel that with 4 children, a garden is full of teaching moments along with lessons of responsibility and accomplishments. My husband loves breaking things down, figuring out costs and always being very, very practical.

Because we decided (as my husband would say, I decided) to take down the old fence we had to put a more up a more efficient and eye appealing one up, he has not been a very happy camper. My husband owns a landscaping business and digging more post holes and stapling up metal fence after a long day of work isn’t exactly his idea of fun. I get that, but to be honest, that’s not my area of expertise. It’s his, I cannot do it and I truly appreciate all of the work he has put into my garden for me.

He laughs as people drive by and give him a friendly wave while he’s out there sweating, digging and building. “I bet they all think this is my big project!” he says. “If they only knew…”  Boy, do love him for it though! 🙂

I love opening the garden gate, walking in and getting to work at a leisurely pace.  It’s a place that I can work and clear my mind at the same time. Weeding, pruning, tilling, raking, harvesting out here in the quiet, in the country, and outdoors all are my idea of fun…he just doesn’t get that and it’s okay.

There’s a book called The $64 Tomato. Have you read it? Well, my husband finds it very interesting. It breaks down the costs of having a garden, your work and how much that yummy fruit or vegetable in really costing you in the long run. As I gush about my ripe and juicy San Marzano Tomatoes and how delicious they are in homemade sauce, he rolls his eyes. “Don’t you just love the fresh taste of these? You can’t buy them all year here and I can can them for use all year!” I tell him. “I’d just go buy my food at the store Shannon,” he says. Another eye roll from him and I just shrug it off. “Whatever makes you happy honey.”

My garden is a little extravagant in it’s size and I never claimed it would make us a ton of money or anything. It is more of a hobby I guess. Maybe it’s a guy thing, I don’t know. I feel like the memories made with our children in the garden are priceless. The chores of picking beans and weeding teach them good work ethic, but it’s rewarding too when that homegrown food goes into a family meal. To me it’s also important to know where your food came from and no that no pesticides were used on them.

I bought strawberry roots at the store this Spring and when the cashier scanned them and looked at them her eyes got wide as she read the packages. “You can grow strawberries at your house?” she said in amazement. “Yes, you can,” I said, flabbergasted. “That’s awesome.” she continued. Now, we live in a farming community. I could not believe that this young adult didn’t know you could grow strawberries here. They grow wild everywhere! I want my children to not only know what you can grow here, I want them to see what all of these plants look like. I want them to feel them, touch them, grow them and enjoy them.

My herb and perennial bed is doing great and I am loving the way the daisies look among all of the fragrant herbs. I found this cute little chair planter (first picture) at an estate sale and thought it would be perfect in there with a few flowers for more color. What do you think?

With my garden fence up and ready to go, I finally got my tomatoes and peppers in! I can’t wait to watch them grow! My cucumbers, zucchini, broccoli, beans, pumpkin, and watermelon all seem to be doing okay after all of the rain and flooding we had too.  After an exceptionally rainy month, I’m happy with the progress. Even though I think my garden is a little bit behind, I think August is going to be a great month for harvesting. I’ve even caught my husband wandering through the garden a time or two…I think a part of him likes it too. 😉 One of our barn cats is sure enjoying the garden view each evening!

Do you have a garden? How’s it growing?

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