The warm weather finally showed up this week, and with the time change giving us a little more evening light, it felt like the perfect time to get outside and plant strawberries in our garden.

There’s something special about the first garden task of the season. The soil still feels new, the plants are small, and everything feels full of possibility.

My little girl helped me the best way a toddler can — standing barefoot in the dirt, pointing at everything, and trying to “help” dig in the garden bed. It’s not always the fastest way to garden, but it’s definitely the sweetest.

Before planting the strawberries, we also started a whole tray of seeds indoors using peat moss pods. I decided to start them this way because it’s so much more cost-effective, and you end up with way more plants than buying starters from the store.

We made a little trip to Home Depot to grab everything we needed, and she helped me put all the seeds into their tiny pods. Watching her carefully drop them in felt like such a small but special moment.

This year we’re starting quite a few things from seed:

lettuce varieties chard kale nasturtiums marigolds zucchini yellow squash green onion basil

After planting them, I gave them a little drink of liquid fertilizer and set them by the window. In just a few days they should be ready to start growing, and eventually they’ll make their way out into the garden beds.

I love these slow evenings outside. The sun stays up a little longer, the air feels warmer, and the garden slowly starts to come to life again.

Strawberries felt like the perfect thing to plant together. They’re simple, sweet, and something she’ll actually be excited to pick later. I can already imagine her little hands reaching for the first red berries.

Motherhood has changed the way I look at gardening. It’s less about having the perfect garden and more about creating little moments together — dirt on tiny feet, watering plants, and learning how things grow.

These quiet evenings in the backyard might end up being some of my favorite memories.

And hopefully, by summer, we’ll have a few sweet strawberries to show for it. 🍓🌿