Growing Roots

We are planting a garden.  

Onions, beets, and sugar snap peas are tucked into the bare raised beds that are on the south side of our house. 

My heart swells with happiness as I watch Sylvan drop pea after pea into the water.  He is so obviously delighted by the sound.  These seeds are going to grow into little bushes of shelling peas and will line the path to our front door.  Just wait until he sees how many sweet, plump, green peas we will harvest!

I am ecstatic as I watch Ivory separate the soil from the grass clods we are digging up, turning lawn into the beginnings of a strawberry patch.  The news of a strawberry bed pales in comparison to her delight in looking for worms, rolly pollies and centipedes.  When we leave for a trip to the grocery store she begs: "Mama, when we get back, can we please do some more yard work?"

Progress. 

On the way home
 we took a detour
and stopped
at a nursery.

Sylvan arranges
and rearranges
the plants. 

Ivory firms the soil around the flowers she picked out (purple of course) and the first few perennials are tucked into the ground.  The small clusters of purple blossoms and bold orange and yellow of the marigolds defining the border between lawn and the freshly turned soil of our new garden bed.

We are putting down roots.

The rows of onions are filled with strait little spikes, the curls of the first pea leaves are pushing aside the soil, and on close inspection, a few bright red beet seedlings are to be found. Sure, we are growing food and flowers, but more importantly, we are growing a family, a home, a neighborhood, a past and a future.