The Story of the One-Year-Old Gardener

Some people just aren't cut out to do certain things and gardening is probably one of those things for me! I have had my fair share of gardens in my life, but it wasn't until four years ago I thought I was going to get into it on a serious level. Trial and error for sure!

I learned that planting seeds/starters in March when they are meant to be planted in April is not just a suggestion. I learned when it says to plant something twelve inches apart, they don't mean six inches, and for good reason! I learned that when a plant calls for part shade, they don't mean full sun. I learned when putting down slug bait I only need a few sprinkles, not the whole bag and I learned that gardening with a one-year-old little girl might leave you googling and consulting garden experts.

Using plant markers is very important when you are garden challenged, like me. Thinking I can remember what I planted is probably the silliest thing I had to learn as a new serious gardener. In my first year, I tossed all of the markers in the trash because I just knew I would remember what was where. But NOPE! I spent the rest of the summer on google and gardening groups trying to figure out what was what! Lesson learned!

By the second year, I had it all figured out (haha). I learned about shade, slug bait, spacing, when NOT to put plants in the ground, and to always use plant markers! I was all set to have the perfect garden. I decided to bring my one-year-old grandbaby with me to teach her all of my newly found garden wisdom.

We dug our little holes, lined out our plants, and together we spent hours planting the perfect little garden. After each plant laid in the ground, I firmly stuck each marker as a reminder of what leafy vegetable was what. What I didn't realize, however, was after sticking each marker into the ground, my little helper was gathering a stack of neatly arranged markers. I placed a marker and she collected a marker, I placed a marker and she collected a marker, and so on... I was so busy perfectly placing each marker I never saw her chunky little fingers plucking my markers from the dirt.

I was so satisfied after our long day of planting the perfect garden and I just knew this time I had done everything right. I stood at the head of my garden, hands on my hips, and looked upon my great creation smiling, so satisfied. That smile faded, however, the minute I looked at my adorable, pigtailed grandbaby and saw her gathering the last of the markers I had set in the ground. Every marker, every single marker was clutched tightly and proudly in her little dimpled hand. She was such a big helper! She helped Grammy collect all of the markers and had them neatly arranged and faced perfectly. With my dirty hands and fingernails, I literally did a facepalm, I then praised her for a job well done and officially joined the Tri-Cities Garden group on Facebook.

You live and you learn, and still to this day, I am so proud of her help on that sunny afternoon and the look of pride on her face when saw me discover all of her hard work!