Home grown

We live on a city-size lot in a town that borders Chicago. When the boys were little, I really wanted them to see where fruits and vegetables came from, so I started a little garden. I had never gardened before and really didn't know where to start. We began and with a little trial and error managed to grow a few things. Over the years we've experimented and enjoyed gardening as a family. We've grown all the typical garden fare and have enjoyed our fresh produce and herbs. Some of our favorites have been indian corn and pumpkins. The boys really enjoyed sharing the harvest with their teachers and classmates in the autumn. Although one teacher really didn't believe that we had grown the corn in our backyard :-)!

My personal favorite is the strawberry patch. It's about the size of a twin bed but can yield several large mixing bowls of berries a year. The best part is that I just let it go and it takes care of itself - all it needs is an occassional weeding.

This is a good year for strawberries. The plants are just loaded with them. It's a good thing as I think the boys can easily go through a pound or so a day :)

This weekend we picked our first batch and enjoyed strawberry banana smoothies for a Sunday night desert.

I've enjoyed the strawberry patch so much that it inspired this:

Wishing you an inspiring week filled with sunshine and strawberries! Patti