Hey Friends,

How are things? How was your fourth of July (If you celebrate)? Did you spend it with family and loved ones? Did you get to see spectacular fireworks? I had a very blessed and joyful July 4th. I did get to spend it with loved ones. I saw some fireworks, little ones that we got for the kids to enjoy in our backyard- like morning glories & sparklers. But no big ones.

I tried some new dishes and we did lots of fun summer things as a family. Took pics, so check out this week’s Sunday Show ‘n’ Tell.

Let’s talk about gardening for a minute. Gardening is not easy. It reminds me so much of parenting. That’s not easy either. This is my 2nd year gardening and my 10th parenting. Alot of the time I feel like I don’t know what I am doing and I’m just figuring it out as I go along.  Gardening, just like parenting is a commitment to creating something beautiful and special. Something to enhance this world for whatever length of time it has here. It takes patience, consistency, vigilance, hard work, determination, knowledge, understanding, faith, trial & error.

Sometimes, when things are progressing slowly or seem to be going wrong despite your best efforts, you feel discouraged, and maybe even for a little bit entertain the idea of giving up. Nevertheless, I hope most parents/gardeners, visualizing the potential for something beautiful in the future, keeps working at it day by day. Despite bad days.

This is my second year gardening and I did things a bit differently this year than last year, we started planting earlier (indoors), in some cases maybe too early. Some of those seeds grew and were successfully transplanted (sunflowers, carrots, peppers, cucumbers), some grew then died (broccoli, beets), some never grew at all (watermelon, lavender, pumpkin).

We changed up the beds, changed location of plants, made the beds much tidier. Last year we had a tomato tree forest.  This year we used deer repellent and snail bait earlier. Last year the snails ate some of my sunflowers to death and the deer ate tops of some just as the flowers were about to bloom- this devastated me. I still got to see a few sunflowers though, they were beautiful. This year I planted a variety of different types of sunflowers.

After the first set of snail bait was gone, snails went to lunch, I put down some more, but not before they seriously made a mess of alot of the sunflower leaves. We have also encountered aphids. They decapitated the heads of my daisies. Where are the ladybugs when you need them? After that, we sprayed the flowers with bug spray, then they were gone. Yeah! We also have rodents digging holes in our beds. I’ve lost a few plants that way. Here’s where vigilance is necessary, just like we have to be vigilant with the “pest” and “rodents” that are slowly nibbling at our children’s souls.

This year we also expanded our garden with some more boxed gardens. Right now, we are dealing with slow growth with the plants in the box gardens, most likely due to not enough sun and rain. Also I don’t think the soil we used is very good soil. So even though they are growing, they are growing extremely slow. We put some things in place for more sun to reach the beds. Just like parenting, we do all we can in our own strength, power and ability, but at the end of the day, a good boast of rain from the heavens would give this garden the life it needs.

Nevertheless, it is a learning process. Not only does our garden need good sun, water & soil. We need knowledge and understanding too. As Christian parents need to keep in the word of God, day by day (still working on that). Gardeners need to read up, and learn about their gardens. What their plants need to thrive, what, when and where to plant, etc. I just read and figured out why my broccoli and spinach plants are dying (in the box gardens). They are cool-season plants.

I want our gardens to thrive and be a success, I want to see those Sunflowers to grow. It is a learning process and that in itself is a testimony to gardening, parenting and life.

What’s New at Asklatisha

Sunday Show ‘n’ Tell- Fourth of July Family Fun!

My Birth Stories- Baby One – Six

Peace, Love and Blessings to you.

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What are some things you have learned from your experience with gardens?

or

How did you spend your fourth of July?

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