[et_pb_section fb_built=”1″ _builder_version=”4.16″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_row column_structure=”3_5,2_5″ _builder_version=”4.16″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_column type=”3_5″ _builder_version=”4.16″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_post_title meta=”off” featured_image=”off” _builder_version=”4.16″ title_font=”Montserrat|700|||||||” title_text_color=”#000000″ title_font_size=”64px” title_line_height=”1.2em” title_font_size_tablet=”50px” title_font_size_phone=”24px” title_font_size_last_edited=”on|desktop” locked=”off” global_colors_info=”{}”][\/et_pb_post_title][et_pb_text _builder_version=”4.23.1″ text_line_height=”1.8em” max_width=”600px” module_alignment=”center” locked=”off” global_colors_info=”{}”]<\/p>\n
I\u2019m not a green thumb and no one has ever accused me of being a gardener, but I\u2019ve definitely been spending more time with my hands in the dirt and bit-by-bit started finding joy in the garden. <\/span><\/p>\n Over time, my experience in the garden has changed. <\/span>Before we <\/span>made this move<\/span>, our garden was comprised of three small raised beds \u2014 each of them was four feet square. It felt like a lot of work and honestly, it didn\u2019t go well. <\/span><\/p>\n [\/et_pb_text][\/et_pb_column][et_pb_column type=”2_5″ _builder_version=”4.16″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_image src=”https:\/\/fermesleystone.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/03\/Joy-in-the-Garden-Sideline.png” alt=”finding joy in the garden, Fermes Leystone, Leystone Farms ,Pontiac, Nurture, Karri Munn-Venn, Trefor Munn-Venn, craft vinegar, city to country, sheep, Wool pellets, honey” title_text=”Joy in the Garden – Sideline” _builder_version=”4.23.1″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}”][\/et_pb_image][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_row][\/et_pb_section][et_pb_section fb_built=”1″ admin_label=”Testimonials” _builder_version=”4.16″ background_color=”rgba(0,0,0,0)” use_background_color_gradient=”on” background_color_gradient_direction=”90deg” background_color_gradient_stops=”rgba(0,0,0,0) 70%|rgba(0,0,0,0) 70%” background_color_gradient_start=”rgba(0,0,0,0)” background_color_gradient_start_position=”70%” background_color_gradient_end=”rgba(0,0,0,0)” background_color_gradient_end_position=”0%” custom_margin=”-19px|||||” custom_padding=”0px||3px|||” background_last_edited=”on|phone” background_color_gradient_stops_phone=”rgba(0,0,0,0) 95%|rgba(0,0,0,0) 95%” background_color_gradient_start_position_phone=”95%” locked=”off” global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_row _builder_version=”4.16″ max_width=”900px” global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_column type=”4_4″ _builder_version=”4.16″ global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_image src=”https:\/\/fermesleystone.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/09\/magazine-18.png” _builder_version=”4.16″ custom_margin=”||18px||false|false” global_colors_info=”{}”][\/et_pb_image][et_pb_text _builder_version=”4.23.1″ text_font=”Cardo||||||||” text_text_color=”#2a2a2a” text_font_size=”42px” text_line_height=”1.4em” text_font_size_tablet=”36px” text_font_size_phone=”24px” text_font_size_last_edited=”on|desktop” global_colors_info=”{}”]<\/p>\n Most of the time it felt like an exercise in failure. We\u2019d get a few tomatoes, more greens than we could ever eat, and the occasional carrot. That wasn\u2019t very long ago. <\/span><\/p>\n [\/et_pb_text][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_row][\/et_pb_section][et_pb_section fb_built=”1″ _builder_version=”4.16″ global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_row _builder_version=”4.16″ global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_column type=”4_4″ _builder_version=”4.16″ global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_image src=”https:\/\/fermesleystone.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/03\/Joy-in-the-Garden-banner.png” alt=”finding joy in the garden, Fermes Leystone, Leystone Farms ,Pontiac, Nurture, Karri Munn-Venn, Trefor Munn-Venn, craft vinegar, city to country, sheep, Wool pellets, honey” title_text=”Joy in the Garden – banner” _builder_version=”4.23.1″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}”][\/et_pb_image][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_row][\/et_pb_section][et_pb_section fb_built=”1″ admin_label=”Images” _builder_version=”4.16″ global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_row column_structure=”1_2,1_2″ _builder_version=”4.16″ custom_margin=”|auto|10px|auto|false|false” global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_column type=”1_2″ _builder_version=”4.16″ global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_text _builder_version=”4.23.1″ text_line_height=”1.8em” global_colors_info=”{}”]<\/p>\n We have a number of gardens now and there\u2019s nowhere I\u2019m happier than when I\u2019m in what we call the Family Garden. These were the first raised beds we put in when we moved to the farm.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Based on my gardening track record, I was part nervous and part sceptical as we built these large raised beds. But we felt it was important and decided to take the leap.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n I knew that I\u2019d have to take a different approach or I would just be magnifying my previous disappointment by an order of magnitude.<\/span><\/p>\n It\u2019s so easy to get overwhelmed in the garden and to feel pressure to grow things that just don\u2019t make sense for your own family. So with these gardens, we took a different approach. It\u2019s simple, but it\u2019s really worked.<\/span><\/p>\n <\/p>\n [\/et_pb_text][\/et_pb_column][et_pb_column type=”1_2″ _builder_version=”4.16″ global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_text _builder_version=”4.23.1″ text_line_height=”1.8em” locked=”off” global_colors_info=”{}”]<\/p>\n That may sound obvious but you wouldn\u2019t believe how many radishes I\u2019ve grown that have never been eaten. As time goes by, we have focused our decisions about what to grow largely around what we want to eat.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Potatoes, onion, garlic, carrots, squash, cucumbers, tomatoes, and beets are among our favourites. In the winter, as we plan our Family Garden, the question we ask is not \u201cWhat should we plant?\u201d but \u201cWhat do we want to eat?\u201d It\u2019s a conversation where each of us has a voice to shape our diet, express our preferences, and be more deliberate about what we\u2019re going to consume.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n [\/et_pb_text][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_row][et_pb_row _builder_version=”4.16″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_column type=”4_4″ _builder_version=”4.16″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_image src=”https:\/\/fermesleystone.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/03\/Joy-in-the-Garden-banner2.png” alt=”finding joy in the garden, Fermes Leystone, Leystone Farms ,Pontiac, Nurture, Karri Munn-Venn, Trefor Munn-Venn, craft vinegar, city to country, sheep, Wool pellets, honey” title_text=”Joy in the Garden – banner2″ _builder_version=”4.23.1″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}”][\/et_pb_image][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_row][et_pb_row _builder_version=”4.16″ width=”100%” max_width=”2560px” custom_margin=”50px||||false|false” global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_column type=”4_4″ _builder_version=”4.16″ global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_text _builder_version=”4.23.1″ text_line_height=”1.8em” max_width=”800px” module_alignment=”center” custom_margin=”||56px|||” custom_padding=”|||0px||” global_colors_info=”{}”]<\/p>\n We need more joy and beauty, not just more work. We agreed that if we were going to work this hard \u2014 and it\u2019s been hard \u2014 it\u2019s at least going to be beautiful.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n That means we grow plants that delight us like sunflowers and marigolds. We grow herbs outside our bedroom windows that smell glorious especially when it rains.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n We have our fabulous <\/span>gourd tunnel<\/span> that creates an absolutely immersive experience where we are surrounded by many of our climbing plants including cucumbers, peas, beans and, yes, gourds\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n There are some things in the garden we don\u2019t eat but we love to grow because we use them in other ways.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Birds nest gourds are a favourite because they look so cool! We look forward to drying them and turning them into bird houses and old-school water bottles.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n We also grow loofah \u2014 yup, it\u2019s a plant and you can make your own loofah sponges from them!! Honestly, I always thought loofah were some kind of sea creature \u2014 turns out they\u2019re a garden creature. I had no idea.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Being able to not just consume what’s in the garden but turn what we grow into things we can use in our home is rewarding on an entirely different level.<\/span><\/p>\n Before gardening, humans could hunt and gather. That\u2019s how we survived. The creation of a garden \u2014 deliberately planting the seeds from the plants that had been gathered \u2014 was an extraordinary act that changed everything.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n It created more certainty about where to find food and more stability about what food would be available and when. Gardens made us active participants in the production of food rather than collectors of food. And it still does.<\/span><\/p>\n Ask almost anyone who gardens and they\u2019ll tell you that nothing tastes as good as what you grow yourself.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n We hope you get your hands in the dirt soon.<\/span><\/p>\n [\/et_pb_text][et_pb_divider _builder_version=”4.16″ _module_preset=”default” custom_margin=”4px|||||” global_colors_info=”{}”][\/et_pb_divider][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_row][\/et_pb_section][et_pb_section fb_built=”1″ admin_label=”Related Articles” _builder_version=”4.16″ global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_row _builder_version=”4.16″ global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_column type=”4_4″ _builder_version=”4.16″ global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_text _builder_version=”4.16″ header_2_font=”Montserrat|700|||||||” header_2_font_size=”70px” header_2_line_height=”1.2em” max_width=”750px” header_2_font_size_tablet=”48px” header_2_font_size_phone=”36px” header_2_font_size_last_edited=”on|desktop” locked=”off” global_colors_info=”{}”]<\/p>\n [\/et_pb_text][et_pb_text _builder_version=”4.16″ text_font=”Cardo|700|||||||” text_text_color=”rgba(0,0,0,0.06)” text_font_size=”120px” text_line_height=”1.2em” header_font=”Montserrat||||||||” custom_margin=”-120px|||-120px|false|false” custom_margin_tablet=”-90px|||-60px|false|false” custom_margin_phone=”-70px|||-40px|false|false” custom_margin_last_edited=”on|desktop” text_font_size_tablet=”80px” text_font_size_phone=”60px” text_font_size_last_edited=”on|desktop” locked=”off” global_colors_info=”{}”]<\/p>\n Related<\/p>\n [\/et_pb_text][et_pb_blog fullwidth=”off” posts_number=”3″ include_categories=”all” use_manual_excerpt=”off” show_author=”off” show_pagination=”off” _builder_version=”4.16″ header_font=”Montserrat|700|||||||” header_font_size=”22px” header_line_height=”1.4em” meta_font_size=”12px” meta_line_height=”1.8em” read_more_font=”|600||on|||||” read_more_text_color=”#dba433″ read_more_font_size=”12px” read_more_letter_spacing=”4px” read_more_line_height=”1.8em” text_orientation=”center” border_color_all=”#e6e6e6″ global_colors_info=”{}”][\/et_pb_blog][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_row][\/et_pb_section]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" I\u2019m not a green thumb and no one has ever accused me of being a gardener, but I\u2019ve definitely been spending more time with my hands in the dirt. Over time, my experience in the garden has changed. Here are three easy things you can do so you can start finding joy in the garden. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":1232,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"on","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[12,1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1224","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-farm-life","category-general"],"yoast_head":"\nGrow things you\u2019re going to eat<\/b><\/h1>\n
Grow things that are beautiful<\/b><\/h1>\n
Grow things you can make things out of<\/b><\/h1>\n
Related Articles<\/h2>\n