Gardening with a 2 year old

One of the great things about our new home is the yard space. Ever since H was a baby he has loved the outdoors. Although it is wonderful to go out on walks, play soccer at the park, etc....it is really great to be able to occupy H with planting and weeding in the backyard. Two weekends ago we took advantage of the beautiful fallish weather to plant a few mums and bushes. (The fall is a great time to plant bushes and trees because they are are sale at nurseries and have the entire winter to take root before the spring again.)

We have come up with these steps for gardening with a young child to both get the work done and have fun doing it.

1. Loosen the soil. H loves this part. He gets a hand held rack and goes to town while we dig up the soil.

2. Dig a hole. (Who doesn't love doing something so concrete. )

4. Pour water at the bottom of the hole.
5. Loosen up plant and place it in the hole.

6. Fill in the dirt. 
7. Water to your heart's content.
8. Sweep away the excess dirt from rocks and surrounding walls. (H got a huge kick out of this step.) You can pick up a small dust pan and broom from almost any hardware store and it can serve as the outside brush. Provides hours of entertainment and beautifies your space. This is a win-win in my world.

The Biggest Weed Ever!

One of the exciting parts of having our first home is the yard work that comes with it. H is beside himself with happiness. Constantly, we hear requests to weed and mulch. And who are we to say no to such a request? So we get our shoes and our gardening gloves on and head out into the yard to do just that. Lucky for us there has been a fair amount of weeding and mulching necessary. (Note the slight hint of sarcasm.)

One day in particular produced a most exciting find...the biggest weed ever. J and H were out working in the yard while I was working inside and from outside I heard excited voices calling for me to come out and see "the biggest weed ever." So, I came out the front door, camera in tow, to document the moment. And now all of you have been witness to it as well.

Happy Saturday!