A Vegetable Garden…..Completed!

seeds

Well as promised, this is the last installment of the creation of our vegetable garden.  The journey has been quite a bit longer then we had anticipated due to some unexpected interruptions….a dead car battery & a broken arm.  

Now we had all of our materials and my husband was going to get started on cutting wood and creating the fencing for our new vegetable garden.  All along, I had a picture in my mind of how nice our little fence would look and I was anxious to plant my seeds.  To be honest, I was getting tired of spending my evenings just staring at pictures of corn, cucumbers, watermelon and sunflowers on my seed packets.  I wanted them in the ground so I could stare at real vegetables and fruit.

Vegetable Garden

 I had our whole afternoon planned out so we could finish our garden, when the phone rang….

Our oldest daughter had fallen down the stairs at her apartment complex and had broken both of her feet.  We rushed to be with her at the hospital.  It turns out that she broke her left ankle and her right foot.  Needless to say, it was going to be very difficult for her to get around.

And so, two days later we were all gathered out in the garden again and started working on the fencing.  My oldest daughter and her husband came out to visit and our youngest kids were so anxious to see her because they had been so worried about her feet.

crutches

My daughter is able to use a wheelchair and crutches to get around, but must stay off her feet as much as possible.  She cannot drive for 6 weeks, so has to rely on her husband and family to drive her to and from school where she teaches.

It was a perfect day….beautiful weather, time to finish the garden, and all of my kids under one roof for at least a little while.  My husband started to put the fence together with help from the kids.

creation of our vegetable garden

 The fence went up quite quickly and I could hardly wait to get inside and start planting.  First, I planted a tomato plant.

creation of our vegetable garden

Then it was time to deconstruct our Children’s Flower Garden and take the surviving flowers and plant them in our new garden.

creation of our vegetable garden
creation of our vegetable garden

Geraniums typically do not survive our hot summers, and are treated as winter annuals.  I have some examples of them surviving the summer and so we will see how they will do in their new location. 

Now the kids and I were ready to plant our seeds.

creation of our vegetable garden

Our third oldest daughter, is most excited about planting watermelon seeds.

watermelon seeds

My son had fun planting corn, which is a great plant to grow because they germinate quickly and their seeds are large and easy for a child to plant.

pumpkin

We are planting two separate crops of pumpkin – one right now, and the other later this summer.

I could hardly believe that we had FINALLY finished.  That evening, I just sat outside by our new garden, just feeling so content and happy that all was finished.

Now, we wait for our seeds to sprout….

Noelle Johnson, aka, 'AZ Plant Lady' is a author, horticulturist, and landscape consultant who helps people learn how to create, grow, and maintain beautiful desert gardens that thrive in a hot, dry climate. She does this through her consulting services, her online class Desert Gardening 101, and her monthly membership club, Through the Garden Gate. As she likes to tell desert-dwellers, "Gardening in the desert isn't hard, but it is different."
21 replies
  1. Becca's Dirt
    Becca's Dirt says:

    That is great that the kids are involved in the vegetable gardens. They will be so proud of the veggies that they claim as 'theirs'.

    My grandson did a small veggie garden last year (age 12) and he was so proud of his snap beans. He was only able to harvest 2,3 or 4 beans at a time a couple of times a week. When his mom cooked dinner he had his own plate of beans while everyone else had the canned beans. Made his day.

  2. Kimberly
    Kimberly says:

    Noelle, bless your poor heart!! You've had quite a bit of excitement and too many interuptions. I'm so glad you finally got your veggies planted! Now you can sit back and enjoy watching them grow, and then…the harvest!!!
    Hope everyone recovers quickly and easily.

  3. Ami
    Ami says:

    Noelle: Finally! With all those interruptions, the excitment just amplified, didn't it? Now the fun time begins. Wish you and your kids all have great harvet, and your son and daughter recover quickly.

  4. Joseph
    Joseph says:

    hooray! i'm glad you got it completed, even with all of the setbacks. i sure wish your daughter a speedy recovery – that is just awful. my mother-in-law did something similar a couple of years ago (broke foot and severely sprained the other) and she was confined to her bed and house the entire summer! your daughter should probably be on crutches at least by summer, huh?

  5. Rosie
    Rosie says:

    worth the wait I'm sure and it looks good even with those few plants in there and a great sturdy fence. Looks very ornamental already.

  6. Balisha
    Balisha says:

    Great pictures of your beautiful family. Those little ones sure love to help you garden. I do hope your daughter heals well and fast. Have a wonderful Easter.
    Balisha

  7. Di
    Di says:

    Congratulations Noelle! nothing like it, a vegetable garden and the kids will be so proud when they see it all growing. Our grandchildren love planting the garden but especially standing and eating the fruit as it grows. 😉

    We wish your daughter a speedy recovery and hope that you and your family have a blessed Easter season.

  8. James Missier
    James Missier says:

    Sorry to note your daughter's accident – I thought that would be another interuption. Thank God she is OK.
    It truly must be very satisfying to get the vegetable garden plot finally done.
    All you have to do is watch like a hawk guarding the new babies and nursing them till harvest. (lol)
    Good luck!

  9. Gloria
    Gloria says:

    I love your pictures – the family looks happy and together. Gardens have a way of doing that -Thanks for your great comments on my blog-Gloria

  10. Darla
    Darla says:

    The photo of all the children, your daughter in her cast/brace and your son's arm in his…what a day!! Your garden is going to be so pretty, love the fence…

  11. lostlandscape (James)
    lostlandscape (James) says:

    Best wishes to your daughter for a speedy recovery. Six weeks with no car sounds like a big hardship. From my trips through Arizona I was given a sense that it's very much a commuter landscape. Does she enjoy gardening as much as you do? That's the perfect sit-down activity that I can think of.

  12. Meredith
    Meredith says:

    Congratulations, Noelle! I'm feeling a bit under the gun now that I've realized it's April 1st (yikes! how did that happen?) and lots of things need planting in the veggie garden suddenly. 😉 I'll enjoy watching yours unfold.

    My sympathies to your daughter. I've broken an ankle before and found it tough on the spirit, just in terms of inactivity.

  13. Rose
    Rose says:

    Glad to see that you were finally able to finish the vegetable garden! I love the way your whole family gets involved in these gardening ventures.

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