Tyler Noll – Page warriorfresh.com|category|tyler-noll|

Ever since I could remember my mother has grown sunflowers every summer in our old front yard sandbox. I never really paid much mind to them or heard a whole lot about them until we got our newest dog who is now two. As a puppy she would constantly roll in this small space often killing some of my moms sunflowers leaving a mess for my mom to come home to. Having two dogs you would assume like siblings, the younger would learn from the old and in a way try and see the things she should not do. Well that was not the case as my dog would do laps around the house when she got excited and this small patch of sunflowers and herbs was in her direct path. She has ran through this small patch in our front yard so much that at one point the sand that was in the sandbox and buried 10-12 years ago by my dad, brother, and I was coming back to the surface. This proceeded to happen and as the summer went on the sunflowers were all dead along with my moms mint, parsley, and thyme.

Image result for sunflowers — https://jennifersoap.wordpress.com/2015/03/18/landscape-challenge-field-of-sunflowers/

As a temporary solution my dad put chicken wire around the little plot to keep it from being further damaged but we should have assumed the outcome. The fence it did not work at all, not even a little bit as the first thing we see her doing is digging so she can wedge her whole body under the fence. Of course, we got their to late and she slipped from our fingers and we all watched her dig up the new soil and roll around. It seemed as if the fence gave her more of an incentive to try and get herself in that dirt by any means possible and she was not stopped. Unfortunately, my mom is now forced to grow these herbs and flowers in pots located on our deck, and my dog has made the old plot her own.

Growing up, both my mother and grandfather kept small seasonal gardens that my two siblings and I would often help with whatever they needed. Growing things like carrots, cucumbers, peppers, and tomatoes every year for a solid 10 we had the routines in the spring and fall to do the little gardens both my mom and grandfather wanted. My mom, who grew up, lived, and worked on a farm selling their produce for all their income and wanted us kids to I guess see how it all works and to an extent have somewhat of an idea on the basics of growing these few vegetables.

Considering my grandparents have been in the same house for over sixty years, having my father and aunt also live their created the opportunity for new people and families to be met and that is how my family gardens have stood out to me. My grandfathers friends who sons all became my dads friends would have dinner at my grandfathers house every other Sunday and it went on for a few years. This was when i was younger but it was cool to see how the food my grandfather grew in a way brought people together with what was fifteen feet away from the table where we would sit and eat it. Unfortunately now this hasn’t been the case for quite a few years but i can definitely say my siblings and i all took something from this in more than learning how to grow your own food, but also a new way to interact, create relationships, and learn.

Category: Tyler Noll

Puppy Problems

Family Gardens