The Beginning

We did not grow up on a farm. We both grew up as suburban kids who did not really dream of owning a farm or think that we would ever be growing food in our backyard... Life is funny that way. I originally started a container herb garden because I needed a hobby. Even though I had a house, I was working all of the time and was never there. I was encouraged by my mother to find a hobby or a pet that would provide something to do at home so I would leave my office... so I chose to grow herbs and two blueberries in a pot. I was single and if had to take care of something, I figured plants were much easier than caring for a pet and I could leave the plants if I had to go out of town without making arrangements.

Soon after, I got married and we decided to try to grow two bell peppers and tomato plants in the yard (probably my husband's idea). We didn't do very much, just dug a hole in our heavy clay backyard, put some soil in the hole with it, and watered. It was like magic. A month went by and we started seeing flowers, then peppers and tomatoes. It was so exciting to actually pick something off of a plant to take it to the kitchen to use! We were hooked.

The next fall, I came home on day to find that all of the grass in the backyard had been removed by my husband. He wanted a large garden and read that he needed to remove the grass. As I stood and looked at all of piles of dirt/clay and grass, I knew we were going "all in" on the garden. He shared some videos he had watched on urban farming, food forests, and raised bed gardening and I was able to understand why we didn't have grass any more. I am actually grateful that he made the first move, because I would have never done it. We now have a beautiful garden that is more like a organized grove instead of a food forest. The backyard is actually on a street named Florence and after looking at the meaning of the name,(blossoming/to flower), we both decided to call our garden, Florence Grove.