<p>Didn’t put this in the political forum as I was hoping that it wouldn’t go down that road.</p>
<p>There is just something about having a swing set and now a garden on the White House lawn that just makes me smile.</p>
<p>just curious… what is the growing season in D.C.? Are they already planting cool weather veggies?</p>
<p>ha… just noticed we have the same post count!</p>
<p>Both make a house a home. 
I love it! </p>
<p>Although I could not stop laughing when I saw Michelle digging in the dirt in her nice boots and a long belted sweater and no garden gloves.</p>
<p>terwitt…we both would have lots more posts if they counted the cafe. They are just getting the soil ready and will plant in a few weeks. It’s a project with school kids. Maybe it’ll catch on and others will grow a garden too. Who knows. It’s all good.</p>
<p>Bunsen: I know, I was wondering who’s going to be weeding the garden etc. Maybe the staff will be happy with a change from lots of green lawn and flowers. </p>
<p>Anyway, what fun having a young family in the White House.</p>
<p>I think it is nice, too, that although the Obama children do not have a “normal” life, so to speak, living in the White House, that the parents are trying to create some semblance of things they would do with their kids had they been brought up back at home.</p>
<p>These years will be the greatest part of their childhood memories if it goes 8 years.</p>
<p>Agreed - this made me smile when I saw it on the front page of the paper this morning. </p>
<p>And so true, making a house a home. Maybe we should call it “The White Home”. :)</p>
<p>I love it, the swing set, putting in more vegetable gardening. Grandma in the White House, and no nanny needed or wanted. I like seeing the family together, and the photos of them enjoying each other. Seems like excellent role modeling as to what a family can be.</p>
<p>
It is traditional in the mid-Atlantic states to plant peas (an early cool crop) on St. Patrick’s Day (March 17). I have mine in! But for most tender plants, we need to wait until the last frost date (early May in my area).</p>
<p>I saw a picture two days (?) on the front of the Washington Post with the chefs out in their toques digging up the dirt…apparently the kitchen staff wanted this garden too in order to offer the freshest veggies. But not beets. It seems Pres. Obama feels about beets the way Pres. George H.W. Bush felt about broccoli.</p>
<p>I wonder why the Obamas didn’t have a garden back in Chicago?</p>
<p>I think they did have a swingset. That nice man Tony Rezko was nice enough to let them put it on his “adjoining lot”.</p>
<p>I think you should really wonder, interesteddad. It’s likely part of a socialist plot.</p>
<p>^^^A socialist *garden *plot. LOL.</p>
<p>Really? Do socialists have gardens?</p>
<p>All the flowers, fruits, and vegetables are red.</p>
<p>trying to get this back on track… does anyone know if there are any fruit trees on the White House property? If they planted any kind of berries, it would take a year or two to yield anything. Seems like the kids might be a tad more interested in fruit than veggies, although I’m sure mom and dad have other ideas.</p>
<p>ID…do you have a veggie garden?</p>
<p>One accounted listed blueberries among the fruits being planted. Dumb northerner question here: can blue berries be grown in the DC area?</p>
<p>Right now I have a crop of parsley on my patio…but I am inspired by our first family to at least add some tomatoes. The images reminded me of my own childhood digging the earth with my mom and making mounds for squash, digging trenches for corn, setting out cherry tomatoes, and stringing the beans.</p>