Today is a beautiful day in the garden. It is sunny and in the mid-seventies. The green beans are really popping out of the ground today. I am still concerned that the spinach is not growing. In addition to vegetables we also have a blueberry patch. As you can see in the picture they are loaded with blooms this year. I am excited to be traveling to see to some of the grandchildren this weekend. I will also be able to see my daughter's garden and compare notes with her. She got me started on the square foot gardening. She does a unbelievable job with the garden, keeping up with 3 children, and home schooling those children.

The garden beds are finally complete. We have six 4 foot by 4 foot boxes. The area around the boxes is filled in with pea gravel. The first two boxes on the left contain peas. They are growing extremely well. The third box on the left contains spinach, lettuce, and onions. The spinach is very slow to get going this year. The first box on the right contains more spinach. The middle box on the right contains green beans which are just starting to come up. The final box contains tomatoes, cucumbers, onions, lettuce, and raddishes. The trellis is for the cucumbers. In the background by the fence are blueberry bushes. They look great this year and are in full bloom at this time.

It has been two weeks since I have written on this blog. It has been a very sad time for me. We had to put our fourteen year old cat to sleep due to renal failure. He was not just a cat, but our constant companion. He was born in this house. He was rejected by his birth mother so I bottle fed him. He was my baby from day one. Friends and family knew him as the offical greeter at our house. He will be missed by many, but especially me who spent most of my time with him. As the days go by it gets easier, but I know I will never forget him.

It is a beautiful spring day. It is a bit breezy and cool, but the sun is shining brightly. A few peas are beginning to sprout and pop out of the soil. This is the "how patient are you" part of gardening. Will all of the seeds come up, should I replant, how long do I wait? I am not a patient person by nature (the laughter you hear is from my husband at the understatement). While waiting for the vegetables to sprout I am enjoying the daffodils. They are just past their prime, but still beautiful. I have a yard full of them. Many of the bulbs I transplanted from my parents house 30 years ago when we moved into this house. Now my daughter has moved some of them to North Carolina to her yard. The generations of daffodils and family carry on. My dad always had a garden. I have gardened off and on since I grew up. Now my daughter and son have gardens and it is amazing to watch the grandchildren get a thrill from planting and watching things grow. Life goes on.

Welcome to my blog. I want to record my experience with gardening this year and connect with other gardeners. This is the fifth year that we (my husband and I) have had a square foot garden. We needed to replace three of our six boxes this year. As most projects in this household do, this one quickly became more than we anticipated. We instead replaced all six boxes, repositioned them, and will border the entire garden with landscape timbers and use gravel in the aisles. The renovation is almost complete. We have planted peas, spinach, onions, and lettuce so far. Here in southeastern Virginia we will wait a couple more weeks before putting out tomatoes, cucumbers, and green beans. Today is a cool, rainy day. Thus far we have had 3 inches of rain. I'm hoping that will water the seeds, not drown them! As all gardeners know, we can't do anything about the weather.