20 Years and Still Growing 💚
20 years ago, we started our first backyard garden in urban Dallas, TX. Here are some pics of “baby us” with our first gardens, when we barely had any idea what we were doing. We started small, but at least we started! That first summer, we borrowed a corner of a friend’s back yard in a suburb of Dallas and grew one single cucumber. 😂 Yep, that’s it.
We then took up “square foot gardening” (highly recommend for beginners!) and the next year, we grew a few tomato plants and some marigolds, but it was better than the previous year!
Each year, we just kept working with what we had, learning, and growing…
Soon, we were raising two babies in that garden, too.
“I believe that choosing to grow something - a garden, a family, a career, a life - is one of the most hopeful stances we can have.
It takes vulnerability to take a step when only that step on the path is lit and the rest of the path appears dark. Even though we don’t know what’s coming or where it’ll lead, choosing to grow means we move forward a little bit and see what unfurls. I don’t know about you, but I’d rather be the person who took that first step than the one sitting on the sidelines, hopeless and dreamless, wondering what could have unfolded.”
After many more years of growing in urban Dallas, and then moving to Tennessee a decade ago to start a farm, another season begins.
This spring, we’ve sowed seeds for Napa cabbage (future kimchi!), a rainbow of tomatoes, multiple types of basil, peppers, and flowers galore, including several fun types of zinnias. 🌸 Wildflowers, sunflowers, and squash seeds will go directly in the ground after the last frost.
After all these years, it still never gets old…a tiny seed that's been dormant for months inside a dark envelope can turn into a bright, thriving green sprout in just a few days time - just add soil, water, and sun. An absolute miracle. 🌱
I’m so glad we didn't give up that spring 20+ years ago…because now we're stewards of acres of land and have thousands of plants going in the ground that will flourish all spring and summer, nourishing many people in all kinds of ways. A lot more than a single cucumber. 😊
We still learn something new every year as the land teaches us.
Never stop trying and learning, friend. And never, ever lose your sense of wonder. ✨
our favorite seed sources:
