another week has passed with out a blog entry from me. between the busy season at work and the spring season outside, I haven’t had as much time to think or to blog about what I’m thinking about. I love the work and I love the spring; I just wish they came at different times.
The arrival of spring brought about green thumb fever in Chloe. She couldn’t wait to plant seeds and work in our yard. 
Unfortunately, while I enjoy yard work for the most part, I hate our yard. The dirt, and that’s an overstatement, is terrible.. The ground is red Georgia clay, as hard a rock when dry. Nothing but the hardiest plants will even attempt to grow. I have dreams of hiring a landscaper to come in and till, condition and replace the soil, plant nice bushes and trees, and create wonderful areas in which we can putter. I had given up all hopes of having a raised bed, despite my envy of those that have them and have been working in them.
Sunday, Rob agreed to help me tackle the “containers”. We have about twenty pots of various sizes around the yard, acquired throughout the years and most carefully moved from our previous house. 
A few ceramic ones did not survive the hard freezes we’ve had and are chipped to the point of slicing my finger open if I get within a few feet. I have been concerned one of the kids, ours or those of others, would slice an artery. Rob worked to dispose of the pots while I cleaned out some “beds”. Clean beds and pots leads to a desire for a trip to the garden center — only garden center open on Easter was Home Deopt, of course.
While at Home Depot, Rob felt inspired and agreed to build a raised garden bed! He bought the lumber and hardware; Chloe picked out some plants.
All afternoon, in the blazing sun, Rob worked at chipping away at the clay in order to make a level spot for the garden. We spent the next two days buying good soil and filling the bed. Then Chloe planted her cucumbers, tomatoes, zucchinis, and green peppers.
Each day, we water. Maybe one day we’ll have some crops. Or maybe we won’t. But we’ve had fun (well, except for Rob’s toiling in the clay, I suppose).
Well done! I hate our yard or more specifically the poor excuse for soil that we have…not red clay but something akin to modeling clay and solid rock in most places. Does not make for nice planting. We have 2 raised beds for gardens this year. And I’m trying to kill myself by creating a regular flower bed out front. 😉 I like the grid over the top of the garden.
Funny thing is, we bought the wood dividers for the grid, then realized that the bamboo in the yard was perfect – cheaper (free) and straighter!
Rob’s bed looks great! I hope your crops are plentiful. Our soil isn’t red, but it’s definitely clay. It’s taken several years of tilling in decent soil to really improve our beds. Dean tills his vegetable garden every year to keep the soil loose enough.