It's In!

I'm blogging about my garden again, but this time I'm not going to whine about how I really need to get out there and do some work...this time I'm all excited because everything has been planted!  My WONDERFUL in-laws came over for brunch on Mother's Day and what was supposed to be a quiet meal turned into a LOT of work!  My step-father-in-law brought over his tiller and we all worked together to weed, till, pull out the garden fence, tear out some additional plants (one required the use of a strap and the lawn mower!) weed, sweep, child watch and weed.  When everyone left we had a garden that is double the size of what we had last year, a weed-free patio and backyard beds that look WAY better than they did on Saturday!  And the best part was, it was fun!  I looked at all the work we did and realized it would have taken me WEEKS to do it all, but with everyone's help it only took a few hours. 
Yesterday the little two and I went to Lowe's and bought a new fence to keep the garden safe from the dog and (hopefully) the kids.  We picked out some peppers, peas, watermelon, cantaloupe, butternut squash, and marigolds (to deter pests) to plant and then I sowed some beans, carrots and lettuce seeds.  I also got some herbs and a flat of flowers for the front flower beds.  I have such a hard time going to Lowe's because I always see so much I want to get!  The more flowers I saw the more ideas I got for where I could put them in my flower beds (which are actually shrub beds.  They NEED some flowers to qualify as flower beds!). 
I'm pretty happy with the plants I got at Lowe's, but I think next year I might want to do the Sprout Robot garden.  I think in the long run it will be cheaper.  I was also frustrated to see in my inbox this morning that the Simon Certified Organic Farm that I used to get my CSA from, is having a plant sale...I could have gotten ORGANIC heirloom plants!  I'm sure they would have been more expensive, but it would have been nice to check out what they had! 
As it is, I'm feeling good about my garden.  I'm glad it's in and the kids are really excited.  My toddler helped me plant the bean seeds and he kept asking if we could eat them.  He's a little excited.  I bought some snap dragon seeds without reading the packet to learn that they needed to be started indoors a month or so ago.  My daughter was so excited to help plant that she dug in the dirt and planted the snapdragons (which I was SURE to tell her won't grow!) and was surprised to see how small the seeds were.  It was a great experience for both of the little ones.  I'm glad I was able to provide that for them.  I think it's important for them to see how plants grow and how food is grown.  My big guy was at school so he didn't get to be part of the planting, but I guarantee, he'll be part of the watering, weeding and of course the harvesting!  (He also loved the tilling...lots of bugs and worms and even a toad!)