Quite Contrary

We’ve come to the end of gardening season. Or at least the end of my first gardening season. I learned a lot (The Idiot’s Guide to Gardening at my side), had some disappointments (no pumpkin bigger than a Superball, no carrot longer than a Mike ‘n Ike’s), had some successes (the fact that anything grew at all and a bunch of beautiful azaleas), and find myself looking forward to next year. I have many people to thank for their support during my efforts--Nick’s dad for providing the azalea seeds in the first place and getting Scarlett jazzed about gardening, Nick’s mom for being supportive when I was acting obsessive and understanding when I brought the baby plants with me to Sacramento for a visit, Keilana for watering her leafy green siblings in my absence, Scarlett for making it magical, Nick for just letting me do my own thing, and many of you who gave moral support, kudos, and advice. I am truly grateful because I needed all the help I could get. I felt a little tug of sadness as I pulled up withered stalks, tossed faded flora in the trash, emptied out containers, and put everything in storage to await a warmer day. It had to be done, but it was sad. In Nicole Sulgit’s Dora’s Garden Adventure, Dora and Boots travel through the Froggy Pond and the Spooky Forest to get to Isa’s Flowery Garden. I didn’t have to work that hard, but it was still an adventure.

http://www.amazon.com/Story-Reader-3-Book-Explorer-Library/dp/1412762847

http://www.jacketflap.com/persondetail.asp?person=117606

It's Not Easy Being Green

Despite having family members who can make plants grow with tropical abundance, I have two thumbs that are the depressing brown of wilted leaves. I am where plants go to die. At least I was. Now that I’m working on letting go of some of those old ways of defining myself, I have decided to embrace the inner gardener I know must be hiding in some corner, however remote, of my soul. Besides, Scarlett is young enough not to realize how green-thumb challenged I am and just knows she loves to be outside. Her Bampa is one of those folks with the magic touch, so he has set her up with her own first gardening set including tools, seeds, and everything to get started. We put all the stuff on the kitchen table (a ten year gap between toddlers has addled my brains), and dug in. The mess was epic but the results were encouraging. We set them on the back porch, watered them with her tiny watering can, and kept watch on them every day. And, truly miraculously, a few tiny, brave sprouts are peeking through their dirt covering. We did it! We’re gardeners! Well, maybe Scarlett is a gardener and I just helped. Either way, green things I planted are in the world now. Jill Mitchell’s A Garden shows creatures, in adorable form, you can find in the great outdoors. She doesn’t show how the garden got grown in the first place. That’s the information I really need.

http://www.amazon.com/dp/1862020108/ref=nosim/?tag=yasni-20

http://www.blurb.com/bookstore/detail/1096481