DIY: Homegrown gift idea

We tended a large garden this summer. Patrick's hard work, green thumb, and the blessing of rain and mild temperatures made for more plenty than we could consume.

I learned so much about food. Did you know zucchini start as the stem of a gorgeous orange flower? Did you know that one corn stalk only bears a few ears? Or the work involved in picking green beans, one-by-one, from rows of full, low-to-the-ground plants? These are all lessons new to this city girl. Amazing.

So, as I enjoyed the novelty of our backyard bounty and canned many many jars of goodies (or watched the experts do the work), I knew sharing it with others would make it even more special ... and so our "homegrown holidays" gifts were born.

This holiday, I packaged up jars of salsa, green beans, banana peppers, and tomato juice in sweet little boxes or simple brown paper bags. Labels keep it lighthearted and personal. The fresh salsa, for example, is labeled: "not too spicy, not too sweet. made with love, onions, & homegrown banana peppers, green bell peppers, & tomatoes from the Anderson garden (plus a heap of manual labor & a pinch of patient wife)."

The boxes were a Hobby Lobby half-off find. The labels are old address labels I had laying around. Since I'm an admitted craft-challenged gal, I have to say it kind of turned out adorably. Now I only wish we'd made more salsa in August so I could gift more of it!

Happy homegrown holidays! What are you making this year?