Believe it or not my brother, sister, hubby, and I worked together to help plant Dad’s garden. We didn’t plant everything. My sister had already planted some stuff a few weeks ago and we are enjoying fresh radishes and onions!
You can see my brother holding up the hoe. He seems to do a lot of supervising. The photos of us planting the garden were taken a couple of weeks ago on my last trip to Arkansas.
Plants for the Garden.
Dad started the plants out in cups a few weeks before planting time.
We planted tomatoes, okra, squash, cucumbers, and watermelons. I think that was all??
My sweet Dad. He has to have his hand in everything. At least he’s feeling better. That stomach bug and bronchitis were bad.
Dealing with Mom and her Alzheimer’s keeps him confined to the house a lot. The new caregiver works a few more hours than the last caregiver so Dad has more free time. Good.
See the onions my little sis planted a few weeks ago? She’s a good gardener and helps Dad out a lot.
Dad and the hubby (JTS) relaxing and admiring our handy work. Actually, I think they were snoozing.
I took a few more shots around the homestead.
I love it when everything starts turning green.
Things green up in Arkansas before they do in Tennessee.
One of the baby calves.
Dad and I took a ride through the woods to try to find a lost calf. The Bull didn’t like us being in his territory.
I think the white cows are the prettiest.
Irises blooming around the trees.
Whoops! I almost forgot to mention I did do some baking. No problems this time. I found an interesting sounding recipe on Pinterest. Time for something different. Dad said it was pretty good but not his favorite. It is a lot like Banana Bread with sweet Peanut Butter Fudge as icing. I LOVED the icing. If you want to give it a try I found the recipe here.....Banana Sheet Cake with Peanut Butter Fudge Frosting.
To read the Arkansas/Alzheimer’s Stories from the beginning click here…Arkansas Stories.
Author: Kathy Owen (Petticoat Junktion)
Kathy is the founder of PetticoatJunktion.com, a home décor blog focused on repurposing and upcycling furniture, old hardware, rusty stuff, and thrifty finds into unique home décor. Kathy’s projects have been featured on the Home Depot Blog, Plaid Crafts, Behr Designer Series, and in numerous magazines. Read more about Kathy here.
hamaki
Large and very nice garden, you could use a hammock as well.
MARTHAIA
Looks so peaceful & such a beautiful place Thanks for sharing.
Rosie
Love this blog. Thanks for sharing.
Broken Bit Mosaics
That is a huge garden. Goodness, it would be a challenge for someone half his age.
We haven't gotten our's planted yet. Need to crack the whip and get the hubby on it.
Naomi S.
My goodness, Kathy, that is a HUGE garden! It's good you all could help your dad with the planting. Too much for one person who's also care-taking.
We are just beginning to get our plots ready for planting up here in Michigan. The weather has been so cooperative in April that we've been able to start cleaning things up outdoors quite a bit earlier than other years. And now that the garden centers are open I can't wait to go shopping for some flowers!
I liked seeing the cow and calf. They are such winsome animals, I think. They look so placid and relaxed a lot of the time to me. Maybe I envy them their simple lives!
Nice post--nice change of pace.
Michelle West Singleton
I see respect,strong work ethics ,and a whole lot of love in those pictures. Keep doing what you do You are amazing.
Kathy Owen
Thank you Michelle :-). We have always been a close family.
Susan
How wonderful that your Dad got his garden in this year and it looks huge for a backyard garden. Wonderful family memories for all of you. The photos are lovely!
Rose L.
Our church has a garden growing veggies and such for the local food bank so people can have fresh instead of slays canned! Also people in the congregation find that they end up with way more in their gardens then they can it so it also goes to food bank or My Fathers heart locally which cooks and feeds homeless. Your dad's garden is huge!!!
Kathy Owen
Yes, we used to garden big time. We grew tomatoes by the acre. We worked in them from February to July. We picked the tomatoes and there was a process where they were graded, wrapped, packed, and took to market for buyers to bid on. My grandparents and aunts and uncles raised tomatoes too. Sometimes we would have a two truckloads of tomatoes to take to the market. My Dad worked a full time job along with farming.
Betty Bly
I love your website and look forward to it every morning. With such a huge garden to you eat everything or do you give a lot away?
Your Dad is so lucky to have his children close enough to visit and help out. Bless you.
Have a wonderful day.
Betty
Kathy Owen
Dad shares any extras with friends and neighbors. Thank you for the sweet comment 🙂
Barb
Kathy,
I love gardening almost as much as crafting! It's hard work, though, and your Dad has a big garden! Nice and flat - everything here at my house is on a slope. I have tumbled over (off) my 5 gal bucket many a time as I was picking green beans! I keep you and your family in my prayers. Alzheimers is a dreadful disease. You are so lucky you can still keep Mom at home. God bless your Dad.
(P.S.) The flowers I saw around the tree were Irises (not lilies - just sayin'.)
Love you and the JTS
Kathy Owen
You are so right about the flowers. I knew when I typed lillies that wasn't right. Thank you!!
Sharon
What I see in the pictures is memories-memories that will always be with you. Blessings and Grace.
Marie|The Interior Frugalista
That is one big garden! So jealous as I write this during a blizzard (yup on April 24th) where planting anything seems so far off. Your Dad is so lucky to have such caring and helpful children so he and your Mom can stay on the family farm. Hope you've taken some time to relax since returning home.
Melinda
Your Dad was so blessed to have you and your siblings there to help out~ Big project putting in a garden,especially that size! I am thinking of putting in raised beds this year. Have a restful week you looked like you put in some hard work!
Cathy
Huge garden!! Really pretty land too. It's just starting to green up here in upstate NY. I started working in my gardens this past weekend. So good to get dirty! Have a great week my dear.
Sandra
Great garden, really large. That's a lot of work, its such a good feeling after you see what was accomplished.
It's wonderful that you can make that trip so often. Your Dad keeps himself busy that's so good for him. God
Bless and help your Parents through these tough days. Your a great daughter and have good siblings, I have 3
brother's and a sister were all spread out but still keep in touch. So anyway dear Lady you have a great day.
Mary Helene
Beautiful Homestead. I am sure you Dad loved having all of you home and helping with the garden. Beautiful Pictures.
Mimi
Great pictures Kathy. You're lucky to gave such a close knit family. Ours is one too. Your Dad has cows?! And a pond?! His land is amazing. Keep up the good work. And keep sharing the awesome pics.❤️
Kathy Owen
Thank you Mimi. We have always been a close family and Dad, his Dad, and his Grandfather all loved farming and the land.