Do you all have very faint memories of being really young? Or is that just me? I don’t remember when my grandparent’s lived in Northern Virginia. I only remember them moving to Fredericksburg during my elementary years. In fact, they moved to my same neighborhood, just one street over. It was wonderful.  Two distinct memories I have are baking with my grandma and looking at my grandpa’s garden.

     I picked up on the baking thing pretty young. I would definitely say I got that trait from my Nanny. It’s something I truly enjoy to do. I’ve been that way as long as my mom would let me try. It wasn’t until last year, a tiny bit of green appeared on my thumb. I had bought my first home. It had a perfect little spot for a garden. So, why not? My grandpa had done it every year, for as long as I could remember… why can’t I?

     With a TON of help from my family, I planted my first garden. And it grew… like CRAZY. I had no idea what I was doing. Squash for DAYS! Weeds EVERYWHERE! I had so many jalapeños, I wanted to donate them to a local Mexican restaurant.   I would go over to my grandpa’s every so often with a list of questions a mile long. It was a lot of work and what felt like a ton of waste. I told myself “next year, I won’t do this again….”

     About a month ago, my whole family gathered at my grandparent’s house. We have a game night and dinner every few months.  My grandpa pulled me outside to  show me his garden. He told me about each vegetable he had planted and how it was almost too late to start one this year. He looked at me and said “we’re going to get you that green thumb, we’re going to make a gardner out of you”. In that moment, I knew I had to try again. So, I did. I’m starting this series for my grandpa. I know he reads my blog. This is all for him.

     Don’t worry faithful readers… this is also for you!  In all these years my grandpa has grown his garden, my grandma has been canning, baking and cooking everything that he brings into the kitchen. And it is wonderful. I plan on sharing some recipes and photos with you!  (if this thing actually grows…)  I’m pretty excited about my Garden for Grandpa series! I hope you all follow along with me… It’ll be an all summer into fall thing if mother nature cooperates!  Stay tuned!

***PS – I need to take a moment to thank my step-dad, Jim. I would have NOTHING in this garden if it wasn’t for him! He dug these holes, planned the layout, helped carry tons of mulch. It’s just as much his garden as it is mine. Thank you times a million, Jim!***

These shots are from the day we planted. Better overall pictures coming soon!