Jamie Oliver would be so pleased if he traveled up here to Midland and paid a visit to Dow Gardens. I have found my self in a bit of a "cleaning and sorting" frenzy at home lately, and my very tolerant children have been caught up in it all. Today when a friend called and invited us out to have a picnic and enjoy the Children's Garden at Dow Gardens, I knew these kids (and their mom) needed a break. So... after they finished painting the house and re-grouting the bathroom, we climbed in the mommy mobile and met our friends for a really nice afternoon out.
Having never been to Dow Gardens before, I was impressed with its sprawling beauty. We bypassed the stream walk and the color and rose gardens (which will have to be explored on another day), and we spent most of our time in the children's garden. Scads of happy children frolicked about, and there wasn't a swing set or a climbing frame... or a video game in sight. What we did find were plenty of both familiar and uncommon fruits, vegetables and flowers growing in abundance. All of our kids were eager to snap edamame, squash, tomatoes, ground cherries, eggplant and more right off the vine and sample them in their raw form. Most of the fruit and veg got two thumbs up. No one was particularly fond of the radish, however... although Lili really gave that radish a fair chance...
Yum?
All of the kids (and this mama) thought it was so cool to see how the food we enjoy grows. Who knew peanuts grew under the dirt before they ended up in that jar of Skippy at the Piggly Wiggly? (Of course, you knew since you totally paid attention that day your fourth grade teacher taught you all about George Washington Carver.) I am constantly impressed by the fact that my kids are such adventurous tasters of produce. I was equally impressed with our little buddy Riley after he ate three raw eggplants. Hope your tummy's still doing okay tonight, bud...
Raw Eggplant? Definite Yum, according to Riley. I prefer mine covered in marinara and Parmesan cheese. Perhaps I missing out?
No, it isn't your imagination... Lili and I were most certainly bathed in some sort of heavenly light. Oh, happy day!
All of the kids also enjoyed pumping water from the well and watering the plants. This was much more fun than playing Wii Sports... although, give Nintendo some time. I bet they will come up with Wii Gardening game. Why get your hands dirty and actually experience the earth, when you can pop in a CD and fling virtual dirt around with your Wii remote?
Cool beans.
This photo is for you, Sonia. Are your UK pumpkins looking like Super Heroes yet?
Emma and Brennen discovered Snap Dragons and had lots of fun making the blossoms talk to each other.
Filled up with sunshine and goodness, I plan to sleep well tonight.
Sea beet wishes and chicory dreams!
No comments:
Post a Comment