we garden…

it is funny because last year at this time i felt like i should have been working in my garden, planting like i usually do, but i couldn’t do it. i couldn’t do it before sophia because those last three weeks of my pregenancy i was soooo tired, i had no energy at all, which was hard for me because i am usually a mile-a-minute. then, after we had sophia i couldn’t garden because, well because our sweet baby was here & she was just too small & brand new & “fragile” for me to have her out in the heat & under the hot sun for any extended time. mom told me not to worry about it AT ALL, she said… “you are growing a baby this year & next year you & your baby can grow your garden again”. mom, that advice made me feel so much better then & now, today, it makes me feel great that sophia & i are out there every-day doing something in the garden or the yard.

sophia likes to watch me plant & she loves to get her hands in the dirt… i love talking to her while we plant or water & we both just love to be outside, especially on these gorgeous days before it get’s too ridiculously hot.

plus, every-day when we go outside we have a “photo-shoot”. some days i get 50 pictures that i love, (which means i probobly took over 200 photos & then just erased most of them… i love digital).  some days i may still take over 200 photos, but i still don’t find any that i love, not one. so i just erase them all & move on…

i love taking pictures of sophia sitting in the flowers & now standing in the garden with the flower pots. she is always sweet sophia, but when i put her in the flowers, she just looks so serene & innocent & so, so beautiful.

i got a bunch of photos yesterday that i loved,loved,loved…

sophia loves getting her hands in the dirt…

our few little gardens are really starting to grow now…

mikayla, sophia & i are really growing a beautiful space this year. we have the garden in the front that shane & jarred built up i think 5 years ago. it is full of perennials (mums,tiger lillies,black eyed susan,echinachea & day lillies from tony’s yard)  & it get’s bigger & more beautiful every year. i always fill it in with a few annuals & seed packets, zinnia & wildflower mix. we have the garden along the west side of the house that is full, full sun all day long. the blackberry bush loves it & it is actually getting a little out of control, there are a few perrenials that have made it thru the years, black eyed susan,mums & a few that i don’t remember what they are but i really enjoy them. i planted strawberries 2 years ago & this year i made this garden a little bigger for tomoatoes, basil, cucumbers,squash & peas. i can’t wait to eat from our garden!!  i also filled in this garden with a TON of seeds, mostly zinnia but also wildflowers & really i can’t remember all of the stuff that mikayla & i planted… it will be a fun surprise for us!! the back of the house is a little harder for me because some of it is full sun & other parts are shade & i have killed a few plants  thru the years trying to figure it out. again, i planted a ton of seeds & we will just have to wait & see what they are. there are a few black-eyed susans & a clematis but for the most part this garden was empty before we planted all of the seeds. the seeds have sprouted & they are really getting big, after a few start to bloom i would like to fill the empty areas in with a few perennials. i know i want to plant more daisies into every garden this summer, i love the shasta daisies & i think there are only a few in the whole yard.

once all of these seeds bloom our house is going to look like a flower explosion… an explosion of color!!! when you turn onto our street i bet it will make a few people laugh because it is just going to be so incredibely bright & beautiful & the only color on the street… shane will laugh!!

she is checking it all out…

my pretty girl just taking it all in…

she watches me plant & she likes to take the plastic pots once i get the flowers out of them. look how happy she is to have that silly plastic pot…

happy, happy, silly girl…

uh-oh sweetie… it looks like you might have eaten some dirt…

“that’s all right, it’s good for you”  ha.ha.

sometimes she picks the flowers…

“what mommy, i didn’t pick the flowers…”   (she says, with a flower in her hand)

sophia, i think that gardening is going to be something that we enjoy doing together for a long, long time. you already love to be with me while i plant or weed & even when i water, you sit there right by me & watch & point & scream at the water hitting the plants.

our garden is growing to be so, so beautiful.

just like you