Lawdy, it’s hot!
If we don’t get some rain soon, I think we are all going to melt. Not to mention the garden. Oh, the garden is taking the heat.
My sweet parents have been gardening probably 50 years or so, close to it anyway. I can’t remember a time when they did not have a garden, it’s been a ritual around our house forEVER. Growing up, part of me and my sister’s chores was to go and pick out the rocks in this back yard garden, which were plentiful back then, to make way for the garden. We thought at the time we were being harshly mistreated, having to work that garden. We were convinced the rocks were multiplying. As soon as we picked up a bunch of them, more were in their place, it seemed. But, this dirt finally got in shape and ready to grow some bountiful produce for our family. And truth be told, we didn’t have much to do with this garden producing at all. The total credit goes to our parents.
It’s been producing a whole lot of years now. This little 1/2 acre lot has seen some delicious fruits and veggies in its time. We used to live next door to this house and just over the fence there was the original backyard garden that fed our family. 
My sweet, 84 years old in July daddy still lives for gardening. It is what keeps him going and gets him out of bed every day in the spring and summer months, tending to his plants and coaxing them to grow some delicious stuff for us. 
Here he is just a few weeks ago, hoeing those weeds tirelessly, keeping the rows clean and neat so that when the bounty comes, he can get in there and pick. 
This is one hard working man, that daddy of mine.
His hard work paid off and just about 2 weeks later, the garden looks like this. Quite a difference from picture #1 up there. 
The tomatoes are looking good and these are what concern me the most. I love me some fresh tomatoes, as do so many of my friends and family. We live for the first tomato sandwich of the summer. Can’t be beat! Sometime around July 4th, we should have our tomato fix. 
Daddy has muscadine grapes growing in the backyard, which get ripe in late summer. Is this a Southern thing or do ya’ll know what these are? I’ll have to show them to you when they get ripe. One is a black skinned fruit and the other a golden green fruit. I used to love to eat these, but not so much anymore, although they are really sweet when fully ripe.
Although they have HUGE blueberry bushes growing up at their NC mountain house, he also added some blueberries to the backyard here in Georgia. You can’t have too many blueberries and these are finally taking off and are loaded this year.
Dad loves figs too and planted 3 fig trees, which are now humongous and have taken over the backyard. This one is loaded. 
I wish I loved figs, but sadly do not. Daddy will make up for my lack of fig love by eating a boatload of figs when they get ripe. I do however, love fig cake. I can see some of this delectable stuff in our near future. 
Another huge fig tree helps shade the backyard, my dad’s swing in particular. Anyone else have an old clothesline in the backyard? Back in the day, my mama hung up all our wash on clotheslines. I can still remember that and did not enjoy that chore either. Hanging or bringing in! Give me an electric dryer any day. 🙂
His swing is nestled in the front of the fig tree and is his favorite spot to relax.
I almost cried at leaving behind the huge blackberries that we planted in Alabama last year, but my daddy dug several of these small plants up when I moved and here they are, looking good. Next year, they should produce many berries. We all love blackberries, so it was a no-brainer to bring some of these to Georgia. 
Finally, I brought my Meyer lemon tree with me that I got from Petals from the Past last fall and it’s got some babies growing. I’m so excited! Not sure what I’ll do with them, but it’s fun to see citrus growing in the backyard. 
Even though we desperately need rain, this is the bounty picked this week and hopefully the first of many meals that our family will eat this summer of fresh veggies from the garden.
We will be frying, sauteeing, casseroling, and who knows what else with this squash and zucchini. 🙂 Fried squash is my fave. All of this was picked last week and we scarfed it down.
Added by popular demand!
Mom’s Fried Squash
She puts about a pint of canola oil into a deep pan for frying. Use whatever pot you have that can be heated up to medium-high heat. You want that oil hot, but not too hot! She slices up the squash first and salts them, let them sit for a bit for the salt to bring out some of the water. Mix up self-rising flour and buttermilk into a light batter. Dip the squash in that batter and fry them, baby!
That’s it! They are SO good.
How about YOU? Are you gardening this year? Tell me what you’re growing.
I’ll have plenty more garden stories to share with you later.
This is a huge garden and it’s so sweet that your Dad still loves to garden. He looks so handsome out there in his straw hat. I’m glad that this keeps him happy. It really is an awesome garden!
Thanks for the tips on making fried squash…I never thought to use buttermilk…I’ll have to try this!
XO,
Jane
What a gorgeous garden!!! I hate weeding as much as your dad, I bet.
Lawdy indeed! Rhoda, this is one of your very best posts! Loved it!
Oh Rhoda….. Thanks you so much for sharing… these pictures took me back to summers on the farm in my GrandMothers Garden in south Ga.!!! There is ABSOLUTELY NOTHING… that tastes as good as home grown fresh veggies…. I could eat a “barrel” of fresh picked tomatoes!!! lol … God is soooo good …. How precious to share this time with your parents…… Beautiful Garden and swing!!!!!!!!!!!!
Thank you so much for sharing! Your post almost made me cry, I ended up missing home so bad after reading it. I grea up in the Northeast region of GA on a 10 acre farm. I grew up around cows, chickens and gardens, gardens and more gardens! I so miss all the fresh produce we used to get out of our garden. So funny you mentioned the fig tree. I am very homesick lately and really missed my fig tree that we had behind our house. I used to go out and eat off that thing all the time. So, recently, went to a farmer’s market in my current town and they were selling fig trees that would supposedly grow up here! I scooped one up right away! I can’t wait to have figs again. My kids don’t even know what they are, can you imagine?
Beautiful garden and fresh veggies. Can’t wait to see more.
Loved seeing all of the garden photos! Kudos to your dad for his hard work–my Nannie turned 100 last month, and I think a lot of her longevity can be credited to staying busy!
I grew up in a house that was built in the 1950s, and I remember seeing an old clothes line out in the yard. We lived on 7 acres, and my parents had a huge garden at one point, but I guess with 3 kids and a full-time job it got to be too much.
Thanks for sharing the recipe. 🙂
Your clothesline reference reminded me of my childhood! I have vivid memories of trying to beat the afternoon summer thunderstorm and racing home from the pool to grab the sheets and pillow cases from off the line. I miss clotheslines! Here in Vestavia Hills they have a city-wide ordinance prohibiting clotheslines. Boo-hoo.
Rhoda,
Meyer lemons are wonderful. You will find so many uses for them.
You can use them for regular lemons at any time. I made a Meyer Lemon Sorbet the other day with some extras I had. And they are great in Lemon Squares.
Enjoy!
I’m from Montana and my parents grew an enormous garden every year. Last summer I went home and we had a delicious meal entirely of veggies – sweet corn, tomatoes, new potatoes and peas in cream sauce, beets, and summer squash. Yummy!
I hooted at your rock in the garden story and then called my mom to let her know I was an “abused” child too. We got 5cents a bucket full of rocks and we had to collect at lest 25 cents worth a week. My dad thought he was instilling work ethic in us and being generous. We thought we were being abused. I love my folks in mid 1960s and even more today.
Rhoda, I enjoy your blog so much. This particular one made me very melancholy my dad died 2 years ago and he was a wonderful gardener just like your’s. I hated picking, weeding all the same things you mentioned. He always had one too. Enjoy your dad and thank you! Leisa
As I was reading along I was mentally crossing my fingers that you had posted the recipe for the squash and squeaked with delight when you did….I can’t wait to try that Y U M !!!
Yes we (your parents will laugh here) have 3 tomato plants planted, big boy, early girl and an heirloom….and some lettuce, we grew that for the first time last year and LOVED it !! We have a big yard but don’t get enough sun for a good sized garden.
I know in the past I told you about my Grampie’s garden, he and Mum (my Grandmother) had everything, asparagus that my gr-grandfather planted (grapes too for his homemade wine) when he came here from Italy, toms, beans green and yellow, corn, two different kinds of greens, cucumber, carrotts. he would start things in the Winter in his hotbeds. Mum canned all her own toms and made the best sauce ever. I used to pick dandelions for them and they made salads….boy do i miss them, they lived well into their 90’s and i swear it was because of their garden !!!!
I love posts about your parents, they are just the best !!!
Kathy 🙂
Oh dear. I LOVE squash in the summer. LOVE. I’ll have to check this out. My Mother-in-law, bless her heart, can make green beans taste better than chocolate. Don’t have a clue how. Now you’ve made me super hungry. 🙂
Can I be your sister? 😉
Hugs,
Kat
OH WOW! Looks wonderful and delicious. Your daddy is AWESOME! And how sweet that he brought some of your blackberry plants along with you! 🙂
What a beautiful post you have given us today. We all have wonderful memories of “back in the day”!
My husband is very ill, so a garden won’t be happening this year. My flower beds are lovely though and taking care of the lawn [just under 1/2 acre] keeps me busy. I do have 9 different herbs in large pots on the deck because I love to cook with them. Enjoy those veggies and yummy fruit and keep us up dated on the garden…love it!
Happy Dayz!
Here’s a recipe for your Daddy – Pineapple & Fig Jam.
Ingredients
3 lbs Figs
3 lbs Sugar
2 oz Preserved Ginger
2 ½ cups of Water
Juice of a Lemon
Method – Cut up the figs and put into cook with the water. When soft add the sugar and lemon juice. Bring slowly to the boil for approximately 40 minutes. Add the ginger near the end. Bottle into sterilized glass jars.
So easy and super yummy from a fellow fig lover!
Rhoda,
I loved this post about your parents. I,too, grew up with parents who had a large garden. I didn’t appreciate it at the time, but as I grew older, I couldn’t wait to retire and have a big garden myself. We spend hours working in it (watering right now), but we get so much satisfaction from growing the food that we eat. I can only hope that we are doing the same thing that you dad is doing right now. He looks adorable.
Oh Rhoda, your post is near and dear to my heart. Growing up we lived on 5 acres and my dad had a large garden. When he reitired he spent every waking moment out there. The rows were perfect and when the crops started coming up it was like art. I still remember he used to say the corn would be knee high on the th of July. For me, potatoes and zuchinni. I’m guaranteed succcess. I have so many recipes for zuchinni. I’m going to try your fried squash. Sound yummy!
Renee