Jan’s inviting you to join her out on the deck this afternoon. She and I have been out there playing in her container garden, putting some herbs and flowers in the ground. Mostly herbs because they have such lovely textures, yummy fragrances, and there is nothing like fresh herbs to make any meal more special. We’re looking forward to using them in our cooking over the summer and hopefully into the fall and winter, if we remember to bring these pots indoors when the weather gets cool.

     She was seriously considering not planting these pots this season. She’s going to be traveling quite a bit through the summer and even with a drip system it can be difficult to keep up with your garden when your away a lot. Especially a container garden. Then we were chatting this weekend and realized we don’t garden just for the pretty flowers and yummy home-grown flavors. We love to get out in the dirt for a lot of other reasons.

     To find out why Jan REALLY needed to get some dirt under her nails check out this video she did for you.

     Here’s a little hint for you: human beings weren’t designed to sit in front of digitized screens for hours on end. We really benefit from playing in the dirt regularly. This is true for our kids and just as true for us adults.  So let’s get messy! Shall we?

     Oh! All right! …go watch the video first then go outside, put a plant in the ground, or make mud pies.  And if you’re so inclined download this free printable and make up a quick batch of herbal “nametag” markers for the plants you just put in the dirt.