Today, I Prepared the Garden

Today, I prepared the garden.

I gathered the tools needed. The seeds. The already hardened green peppers and tomatoes. The fertilizer. I pulled my little cart to the garden to get started.

The soil in our raised garden beds needed some smoothing out. Large clumps of soil had to be broken up so fragile seedlings could grow through. Tiny seedlings had to be planted at just the right spacing with just the right amount of fertilizer. Not too much and not too little.

Tomatoes need staking up. To protect their fragile leaves and keep them contained as they begin to grow and bush out. Two different types of plants that we are hoping to harvest in a few months. Cherry tomatoes and better boy tomatoes, ready for sandwiches.

After creating safe places for the new seeds, it’s time to water. Not flooding them out, but ensuring the soil stays damp for best growth.

I’m proud of the work I did in the garden. My husband helped me move dirt and prepare the raised beds, so I didn’t have to do it alone. I’m still proud that I put in the work. It was after all a Saturday morning after a long week. I could have stayed in bed. After all, my husband did have to come and wake me up.

I got up and I did the work. I didn’t let my mind talk me into staying in bed and not doing something I had been planning for weeks. Ensuring that we were safely past the fear of frost.

There will be more work ahead of course. Weeding, watering, thinning, and pruning. All for the hope that we can harvest a plethora of vegetables to share with family and friends. Some of our favorites include green beans, cucumbers, green peppers, squash, and tomatoes. And don’t forget the extra flowers planted - zinnias and sunflowers to attract the butterflies.

Planting a garden brings back sweet memories. Times spent as a young child snapping green beans by the bucket full for canning. Picking a fresh cucumber and eating the entire thing in one sitting. My grandparents loved gardening and I’m thankful they passed that love along to me.

So today I’m celebrating what I did in and for the garden. I showed up and put in the work, hoping there would be a reward to show.

I’m proud of the girl who chose to get up and plant her garden. She showed up and it was worth it.

Isaiah 61:10-11, CSB

I rejoice greatly in the Lord, I exult in my God; for he has clothed me with the garments of salvation and wrapped me in a robe of righteousness, as a groom wears a turban and as a bride adorns herself with her jewels. For as the earth produces its growth, and as a garden enables what is sown to spring up, so the Lord God will cause righteousness and praise to spring up before all the nations.