Mud Pies

Though my husband is a non-gardener he tells me that he really enjoys reading this blog each day, “It’s refreshing.” He does say that he grew things like “giant” corn stalks when he was young.

Today he reenters the gardening world with a creative gift from family, a tiny greenhouse of miniature flower pots to be planted with “fragrant herb” seeds.


Much like the set-up for Oskar’s growth, this kit has soil “pellets” that spring to life with the addition of lukewarm water. The little “soil muffins” grow and grow to be twice the size of the pots! There’s even soil left over. Mud pies. My husband declares it, “messy fun.”


Next come the nearly microscopic seeds, mint, marjoram and the tiniest ones yet—chamomile pressed into the fork—fluffed soil.


And finally, the clear plastic greenhouse gets closed up to hold in the moisture that helps seeds germinate; then it greets the world from a sunny window sill. The sun is burning off the frost outdoors and warms us indoors—inside and out.