Out with the Old

Any gardeners here today?

As soon as things start warming up and blooming around here, my fingers itch to get into the soil and start digging. I haven't always been like this. For a long time, I couldn't have a garden of any kind. But since we settled in this house three and a half years ago, I've enjoyed having my gardens in the back yard. My loving husband dug up the raised bed areas and helped fill them in with frames and fresh soil and compost. And we've reaped lots of squash, green beans, tomatoes, pumpkins, and cucumbers since then. The kids love helping, too, which is always fun.

​But it's also a lot of work.

You see, even though my veggie gardens are raised beds, weeds still find a way into the soil. They creep through the cracks in the wooden frames or blow their seeds in on a breeze or are carried in by a neighborhood cat who decides walking through the garden seems like a good idea. However they get there, they have to be removed before anything new can be planted.

Otherwise, all the new stuff won't have the nutrients or space it needs to grow to its best ability. And I'd much rather have green beans and squash and tomatoes than dandelions and clover and wild violets. At least in the garden. In the yard, who cares?

So, as things start to warm up, it's out with the old and in with the new.

We planted our garden a few weeks ago when the cold finally relinquished its grip on middle Tennessee enough that we figured things wouldn't freeze. The kids helped loosen clumps of greenery that had taken over the spaces during the winter. And in went the seeds and plants. We're all pretty excited to watch it grow and see if we get as much as last year. I have my jars empty and ready to go.

And as I'm cleaning out my garden, it reminds me I might want to clean a few others things out of my life. Not only all the old paperwork that could be thrown away or the five extra sets of colored pencils we really don't need. Maybe a few things in my spiritual life too. Because I'd much rather be growing the fruit of the spirit than stress, guilt, contention, jealousy, etc. 

What about you? What kind of Spring cleaning are you doing? Inside and out.