When
it’s time to start gardening in the spring, my thoughts turn to a book from my
childhood collection of “Little Golden Books” – Two Little Gardeners, by
Margaret Wise Brown and Edith Thacher Hurd with illustrations by Gertrude Elliott, 1951. Perhaps this story is my gardening inspiration, instilled in me at a young age.
In
the book, the two little gardeners – undoubtedly brother and sister – come out of
their house in the spring to plant their garden. They gather their equipment –
shovel, hoe, rake – and seeds. They work the soil until the lumps are nearly
gone. Then they plant the seeds. And the sun shines and the rain comes and the
seeds sprout – well, you know the story without even reading it, including the
part about the worms. In the end they have more produce than they can eat, so they have to store it by canning or drying. They really knew what they were doing,
those two little gardeners. Everything goes well for them – even though their
parents were nowhere to be seen! I have wondered if this little book wasn’t
meant to brainwash the child into thinking that the successful garden is to be
had just for the effort. I’ve never found this to be true. 
After
the Seaport River Run on Saturday (April 27), we went to the farm. Hallie had a
project in mind to construct better protection and access for the raised bed.
The raised bed was a dilapidated affair from its inception, so the fellas were
skeptical that the base was worthy of this frame, but Nick agreed to help her and constructed framework
that will last long after the old railroad ties have failed. 
Of
course, Nick and Hallie weren’t really gardeners. They were carpenters. Still, as
I watched them work I was again reminded of my book, Two Little Gardeners.
Nick meticulously measured the boards four times and cut once. He
insisted on bracing the frames – time consuming, I think, but undoubtedly a
good idea in the long run. 
Hallie's design provided for a gate. Here she staples new plastic chicken "wire" to the gate.
Work continued through the afternoon and until suppertime, despite unsettled weather.
Monday morning Nick's hand was swollen from the staple gun, so Mike helped Hallie staple the remaining chicken fencing to the frame.
And now it's finished --a real accomplishment.
5 comments:
Looking good Kathy!
I'm getting my garden seed in slowly as I am always cautious at the beginning - one never knows when Mother Nature will throw us a loop.
I have 2 HUGE tires that have the side cut out (flopped over, of course) and they provide good beds.
good luck with the plantings.
Farmer Kyle's tires are HUGE tractor tires -- bigger than the two I have now. I have strawberries growing in one and have used the other for squash. We'll see what happens.
I always wish I was a gardener, but the sad truth is, I'm not. I do use the produce and actually enjoy canning, but a grower, I'm not. Thank goodness Dan likes it! :-)
I'm not a gardener either, though I keep trying. If I'm lucky, I can grow zucchini and tomatoes -- and weeds. My weeds do well.
Actually I didn't do too badly the years we lived on 12th Avenue. The previous owner had had a load of farm dirt brought in, and I think that really made a difference. Of course, I also grew plenty of morning glory.
In the spirit of conservation, some of the materials were repurposed slats from a discarded bed frame. And a particularly special homage: the hook holding the gate closed is from the old outhouse door. When the railroad ties fail, you can have a new bed in the same dimensions and the fence may continue to be used.
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