Back in the WWII days, citizens grew "victory gardens" in their backyards, growing all sorts of veggies to put on the table, to stretch the ration card purchases. We have been gardening for years, because that is how my parents taught me, and I have hopefully passed on this desire to grow green things, either to enjoy in the home or at the table. In fact when Mom and I did a genealogy hunt in Lithuania in '99, we learned that our love of gardening comes from our Lithuanian genes. All my cousins had gardens in the country, and grew gorgeous flowers and veggies thru most of the seasons, inside and out.
This year we decided to try something different, because hubby had a shoulder replacement, and he and a tiller aren't compatible anymore. We did our research, talked to the experts at the Flower, Lawn and Garden Show this past spring, visited and talked to Powell Garden growers, and he went online to www.gardeners.com to design and print up templates for our new version of the Victory Garden--raised beds.
All I can say is "so far so great" because we have been harvesting the BEST spinach we have ever tasted, and wonderful leafy green lettuces that every bunny in our woods is dying to taste. After we built the raised beds, and planted seeds and seedlings, I suggested we fence it as we used to do our big garden. Hubby said, oh the beds are high enough. I said, please humor me. So he fenced all around our garden, and I am so glad because this year is a "big bunny year" and the dogs of the neighborhood (including our own) are big and heavy-footed. Good fencing makes good gardens, to paraphrase Robert Frost.
