Free Food Shopping: My Mother's Garden


Yesterday afternoon, I visited my parents. My mom and I went to her plot of land at the community garden. She's growing many types of squash, tomatoes, beans, lettuce, and more.

The last time that I had seen the garden, we were pulling up weeds, so my mom could plant the seeds. So much has grown since then!


We also met her garden neighbor, Pam. She is quite generous with information about what's going on with the garden community and with sharing her harvest. She dug up an onion for me and said that I could take as much basil as I want.

Woo hoo! Guess who's making fresh pesto tonight? My mom let me pick all the green beans that I wanted and gave me summer squash and zucchini.

Most of the yellow waxed beans were missing and my mom was surprised at how few green beans there were.


Pam told us that the other day, she saw yellow beans strewn about with several other vegetables in places where they shouldn't have been. Some animals had apparently gotten in and had quite a good meal. 



These tomatoes have a bit more ripening to do. Maybe a week or so?



So many weeds were in the garden. But some weeds are actually wildflowers. I picked these flowers and recalled buying them at the store for between four and six dollars depending upon if they were on sale or not.  Wildflowers are some of my favorites.

I realized that there isn't much difference between weeds and wildflowers. It's semantics. Weeds are unwanted. Wildflowers are for sale.

That's quite a money maker for the stores. There were so many wildflowers in the area. Next time I'm bringing scissors! 

There were Black-eyed Susans and the largest brightest purple clover that I have ever seen. The bees were big, buzzing, and looking happy!

I hope you're enjoying your weekend as much as those busy bees!  : )


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Comments

Chris said…
That garden looks so cool. Few things better in life than home grown veggies :)
Last weekend, I visited my parent's house. Dad has a large vegetable garden in the backyard. It's definitely like going to the farmer's market for free. He gave me so many tomatoes, cucumbers, chili peppers, and frozen bags of fresh stewed tomatoes. The taste is amazing!
Ed said…
That is a beautiful garden! I am enjoying your blog.
SharleneT said…
I love how those community gardens are springing up, everywhere. So many apartment complexes are giving tenants common land to create gardens. Nothing compares to fresh veggies. Come visit when you can.
Lisa Johnson said…
chris - Thanks! I agree! I'll have to make sure that my mom sees this post. ; )

sanura - Welcome! Sounds like you had a great shopping trip too. And reminds me how much I love stewed tomatoes. I haven't had them forever!

ed - Thanks for the visit and kind words! Much appreciated!

sharlene - I didn't know apartment complexes were giving tenants land to garden. Great idea! I haven't seen that around here much. I wonder if it's a regional thing. Interesting...
Chris said…
Lisa,

Yeah, we're in an apartment and they have gardens for the tenants. Free too. We just had to put our name on a list and it was first come first serve. I think we can keep the garden now until we leave.
Eliana said…
Seeing this makes me wish I had access to outdoor space for my own garden. Nothing beats the freshness of just picked veggies.
someone once said that WEEDs are just plants people have not yet realized their useful properties...
The Duo Dishes said…
Don't we all wish we had a garden for planting herbs and veggies. Luckily for many Californians, there are citrus and avocado trees everywhere! Oh, and rosemary bushes. We can grab them from your backyard (or your neighbor's yard) without worry.
community gardens are such wonderful concepts. I wish i had space either in atlanta or DC to plant some stuff. for now, i'll snatch goodies from my parents' backyard. It's always so much fun (and more delicious) eating things you know your hands worked hard to toil!
Lisa Johnson said…
chris - Pretty cool! I hope the trend spreads.

eliana - Welcome! So true!

karmafree cooking - Thanks for the visit! A very wise person who said those words...

the duo dishes - It must be amazing to just pick an orange or lemon off a tree. Those rosemary bushes must smell incredible!

bren - I'm sure your parents love being able to share with you. And I'm sure that you'll have your own garden one of these days!
Chris said…
There is nothing like fresh vegetables from a garden!
Lisa Johnson said…
chris - I agree! And it's time for me to get some more! ; )

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