One of my earliest childhood memories is of eating sugar snap peas off a creeping vine in the backyard while my dad watered and pulled weeds.
As far as earliest memories go, I think that’s a pretty good one.And really, what finally convinced me that we should go ahead and replace a big section of the front lawn with an edible garden was the thought of Alice spending time there.
We planted her some sugar snap peas.
In thinking about our spring planting, we were very fortunate to have expert-gardener friends to turn to: They made sure we knew what to plant where and when – and they also had really helpful insight on some of the more cosmetic considerations I wanted to pay attention to. What plants look attractive together? How can we add some depth and height variation?
(Not everyone’s lucky enough to have expert-gardener friends, I know. If you don’t, Master Gardeners are an excellent resource, as is the Cooperative Extension as a whole. Nursery employees too, especially at independent businesses, are great at answering questions and offering advice).
In addition to the peas, we’ve filled one planter box with tomatoes and bell peppers, another with blueberries and one with strawberries. We were looking for fruits and veggies we would enjoy eating, and that Alice would recognize and want to care for.
Strawberries are particularly fantastic because they’re delicious, kid-friendly and evergreen. And what’s more cheerful than a strawberry blossom?
It took a few years for me to be convinced, but we've decided to grow an edible garden in the front yard. Here's how we're doing it.
This week: The spring plants
