Happy Tuesday! Hope your week is going great. Gotta love a short week that ends with a bang, right?
Today I am sharing our family garden. When our oldest, Parker, was baptized, the pastor told us that the meaning of his name was the keeper of parks. He has definitely lived up to his name as he would pretty much live outdoors if we let him. He absolutely loves digging for worms, playing in the dirt, pretty much anything having to do with being outside.
I’ve had fun putting this little area of the yard together with him. In true fashion, I didn’t spend any money and we had fun getting creative on ways to make a garden using organic materials.
Since we’ve enjoyed our garden so much, I thought I would share a couple ideas with you so you can start one with your family too!
First up, every family garden needs an official sign. On one of our walks, I grabbed this piece of wood from a neighbors trash pile. When we got home I wrote “Our Garden” on it with regular orange acrylic paint. This took all of 3 minutes but really makes the garden feel complete.
The brick one was from our first rental home when we lived in Orlando. The neighborhood we lived in was so charming and had brick streets. Part of the street broke apart and this chunk came home to live with us. I have moved it to 5 different houses and I love that it brings back such a fun time in our lives.
Next up, let’s talk plants. When we moved in, the front yard had about 3 hostas. I have been splitting them every spring and I think we are up to about 15 now. I have been filling this part of the yard creating a fun border. Hostas are the BEST!! They come back every year and require little to none maintenance.
In addition to the hostas, thanks to my Dad we have 5 blueberry bushes as well and fingers crossed we get some blueberries this year! We also have four hydrangeas in the back of the garden and they have already started to bloom! Have I ever mentioned these are my favorite flowers?
I love that the garden has become a spot for Parker to put his outdoor trinkets and things he collects while outside. Feathers, sticks, you name it.
We can’t forget the animals! Our sweet friends inherited a bunch of yard items and had this extra bird bath so they gave it to us. We have our bird feeder next to it and Parker loves filling it up with bird seed. He has learned to spot a red cardinal and loves watching the birds eat. We have also managed to make some new squirrel friends. (Has anyone figured out how to keep the squirrels off your bird feeders- my goodness??!?!?)
For the walkway, I just laid a few big sticks to divide the pine straw and mulch. I am on the lookout for some better ones but these were what we had available. It’s all about free and organic materials!
Is this garden perfect? No.
Are their weeds and dead plants? Yes.
Do we have rows and rows of vegetables. No.
But it’s a fun area to play and dig and the little guy is really learning to appreciate nature. He can spot a hydrangea plant, understands that blueberries grow on bushes, and could dig you up 10 earthworms on the spot. I imagine this little garden will evolve over time each year and I look forward to spending time with the boys in our garden.
What a sweet garden area for your son! He looks like he's having a good time:) I totally agree kids need their own area where they are allowed to dig!
That boy loves the dirt. Pikes could use him in a commercial! So glad he and his brother will have a place to dig for worms and maybe pick a blueberry or two.
This is so awesome! I am happy to see this creative way to allow Parker to be the digging adventurer that he is… so many moms don't embrace this part of a boy's nature. Wish I had a house when I was raising my son, it would have been something like this I imagine… Thanks for sharing and Go Parker!!!
Cute area! I love the idea that it's so kid friendly. While I've definitely filled our yard with plants, I'm not going to allow my kids the freedom to just dig. I may need to make an area once we fence in our playground area. My son loves rocks and I can see him needing an area for his findings.
This is so beautiful and perfect for letting your kids be kids!!! Nothing like gathering all your nature finds and decorating an outdoor garden space! U may start to find frogs, lizards, salamanders etc in his collection!!! 🙂 great work Heather!!!! Your kids are the best!!!!