The Garden

It's finally warming up in DC (though awfully chilly in our house today for some reason), and last weekend we spent much of Saturday outside planting. This is the one activity when I don't mind getting down in the dirt with the kids. They were great help pulling weeds and getting the vegetables in the ground, and Gracie helped me with the flowers in front as well.

Thankfully, there were already a couple of nice, large raised beds in our back yard and perennials in both front and back, which saved us lots of work. We had delicious-smelling rosemary, sage, and mint (tons of rosemary, wish I could share!). 

Rosemary bush 

Hostas

Not sure what this one is, but it's about to bloom pink flowers

More mystery flower bushes ... anyone?

Harvey and the kids planted (the ever-popular in our house) tomatoes, as well as cucumber, peppers, onions, and strawberries. We forgot to get okra, but we plan to add it soon--another favorite. I also planted a couple of flowers in front, in pots I found in the back-yard shed. We will miss being in our community garden in Tulsa, but we're happy we had our own space to plant here as well.

Planting cucumbers with Daddy

Garden smiles

Not the White House kitchen garden, but it'll do for us. 

And on to the flowers

Watering

Porch pots

I think the watering can is bigger than she is.

Gardening makes our house feel more like a home. It gives us something to be excited about and something to hope for. I'm starting to see why everyone here told me through the winter to wait till spring and DC would turn green and blooming and beautiful. It's here, and it's turned our modest rented house into a charming brick cottage in my eyes. Now if I can only figure out what all those pretty flowers and bushes are!

Peaceful porch

Home in spring