Adventures in Gardening

Last month, I decided that I was going to plant herbs this summer. My yard has a dirt bed that is perfect for planting and my mom gave me gardening instructions. I have never gardened before in my life and actually had to purchase tools, so this was a new adventure for me.

I brought my daughter Emma to a local nursery and we had so much fun smelling the different plants and deciding what to buy. We walked out with parsley, rosemary, thyme, basil and dill.  Later that afternoon, we planted everything in a sunny spot in the dirt bed.

There are numerous health benefits associated with these herbs, including cancer prevention and antioxidant properties. But my reason for planting my garden was simpler: I want my family to have access to fresh herbs right in our backyard that we can pick ourselves. Last summer, I witnessed my toddler’s infatuation with my mom’s garden and I am proud that she now has a little garden in our backyard. She was thrilled to help me dig the holes for the plants and paid close attention when I taught her about the different herbs.

In the last week, I have used all of the herbs in my cooking.  I add basil to stir frys and chop up parsley in salads.  Instead of using bottled seasoning, I put the rosemary and thyme on chicken.  The dill makes a great topping for salmon, which I eat almost every week. Cooking with fresh herbs is new to me, but I am learning as I go along. I find the flavors to be much stronger and fresher than anything that I could find in the store.

If you don’t have access to a dirt bed, these herbs are easy to grow inside on a sunny windowsill – just make sure that they get a lot of water.

On a recent warm afternoon, Emma and her friend were running barefoot in the backyard. My daughter brought her friend over to the garden and pointed out the different plants, naming each one. I couldn’t have been prouder, even when she ripped a dozen leaves off the basil plant to find the perfect one to eat. I have no doubt that my herbs will make it through the summer; the real question is whether they will survive my curious toddler.