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Mother’s Day weekend at Casa Kelly was filled with everything you might come to expect from our household– multiple trips to multiple home improvement stores, stuffing a tree into our backseat, and hauling enough paver bricks to make us sweat.  As I was swinging a hatchet on Mother’s Day afternoon at a dead elm when other moms were guzzling mimosas at the spa, I couldn’t help but laugh. They say that little girls slowly become their mothers; if there is any truth to that statement, then I am well on my way.  And when I got caught in a huge downpour after planting our brussels sprouts and tomatoes? I was relieved that I didn’t have to water my latest additions to Alexander’s garden– the weather took care of it for me!

For those of you interested in the planting lineup for Alexander’s edible garden thus far, here goes:

• Bright Lights Swiss Chard: beautifully and colorfully veined greens
• Nasturtium: peppery-tasting flowers with circular leaves, often added to salads
• Asparagus: generally takes two years to sprout
• Italian flat leaf parsley
• Genovese basil
• Purple basil
• Thai basil
• Jade Cross brussels sprouts
• Mammoth dill
• Oregano
• Rosemary
• Cilantro
• Dianthus (carnations)
• Spearmint and Peppermint (in a pot)
• Lavender
• Beets (chioggia variety)
• Spinach
• Arugula (rocket variety)
• Mesclun mix of greens

Though the list sounds quite impressive, the garden is mostly looking like a large dirt pile. I did edge the garden with bullet pavers this afternoon (which helps contain the garden soil) but it’s still looking fairly sad. With the spring rains today, I hope to see more of the seeds sprouting.

For those of you reading this and thinking “Yeah right, I don’t have time for this,” I recommend checking out a product called Seed Bombs. I had a box in reserve from a previous stocking stuffer, and Alexander put them to good use this afternoon. They are basically seed mixes combined with a starter/fertilizer into a compact ball. I handed each herb ball to Alexander, and he happily hurled them into his garden. We did some minor watering, but the instructions indicated that even without rain, with time the seeds would sprout. I’ll give a full review on this as things start to grow, but as of now, they were a no-mess hit for my favorite toddler.

Rain won’t keep this young gardener down. He’s sharpening his skills until the skies clear.

I can’t emphasize enough how much fun this gardening project has been for both myself and Alexander. During a rainy weekday, I watched him take his play gardening gear, his kitchen sink, and some play flowers and set up shop on our coffee table. He “filled” his watering can in his sink, potted up his plastic flowers in a small box, then proceeded to water them with his watering can. Today, after an energetic play session with his water table outside, he took a few cupfuls of water over to his new rosemary plant without any prompting.  It’s a true joy to watch him blossom along with his garden!  Mother’s Day gifts are nice, but watching my son find pleasure in exploring nature is incredible.