In the Garden with Skylar, the Dimpled Darling

I've had the pleasure of knowing Skylar her entire life.  Over the past four years, I've witnessed her grow into an extremely self aware little girl with strong opinions about her likes and dislikes  To my delight, gardening has shown up on her list of likes and current interests!

I can best describe Skylar as an energetic, happy go lucky, night owl with great personal style and the best dimples I've ever seen.  I'm not positive of where her desire to garden came from but it could definitely be in her genetic make up as both her mother and maternal grandmother are gardeners in their own right.  

Skylar's mom Toni was a container gardener in her youth and thought it best to start Skylar off in the same way.  Luckily for us, Skylar was quite pleased with the container and happily announced that she would be growing strawberries, tomatoes, cucumbers and peppers.  Skylar was very excited about planting her garden with Titi (that's me) and took the task quite seriously.  

On a sunny day in May, Skylar planted her container with the assistance of Toni and I.  After Toni prepared the container by making drainage holes and selecting a location for planting, we all pitched in to fill it with soil.  Skylar gently placed each plant in the container starting with her favorite, the strawberries.   We used a dowel rod as a temporary stake for the tomatoes and watered well.

After the planting was complete, Skylar was very happy with her handiwork.  A few days later, while chatting on the phone, Toni & I decided to probe Skylar for information.  This is what Skylar had to say about her garden:

Toni: Why did you want to plant a garden?

Skylar: To eat food and to make the food grow

Toni: What did you plant?

Skylar: Tomatoes, basil, strawberries, cucumbers and peppers

Toni: What are you going to do with your vegetables?

Skylar: Share with mommy, daddy, grandaddy and the whole family.  The family is going to eat squash and the grown ups are going to eat the basil. 

Toni: What are you going to eat?

Skylar: The strawberries and the peppers

Since planting her garden, Skylar has been checking on it regularly and watering as needed.  She's already learned that gardens take time to grow and it will be interesting to see if she has the patience to wait on her harvest.  If all goes well, Skylar will be moving on up to a larger container very soon.