As I sit in my sunroom and peer out the window, I am thrilled to see blue skies and warmer weather. The summer garden is planted and I can sit back and enjoy the late spring garden. In June, our family has many celebrations like wedding anniversaries, birthdays, graduations and of course Father’s Dad.

Dad enjoyed many outdoor activities and one of them was gardening. My dad also loved reading about history and finding out how things came about. He would share these facts in fun ways using items he already had and simple ideas to build in just one on his days off. He was so far ahead of his time in planting container gardens, roof gardens, rain barrels, theme gardens and picking the best heirloom plants for his gardens.

This is what my Dad called ‘Investment Planting,’ a phrase that I think accurately represents a concept that translates into each of us becoming mindful of what plants we are using on our properties. Whether it be trees, shrubs, perennials, annuals or vegetables, rather than thinking that the latest trend in the world of gardening is what will make your garden come alive, it is actually the stalwarts of your garden that form the basis of what I call ‘voluptuous gardening,’ a garden that enlivens all of your senses.

Dad aways felt you needed to familiarize yourself with the plant material that will thrive best in our climate; ones that are hardy and disease and drought resistant; and produced a good crop. By practicing responsible gardening, he would be more satisfied with his final results and became steward of his five-acre property.

How to go about becoming more knowledgeable? Well my father loved to read. I remembered once learning from him that wheelbarrows, paper and noodles were invented by the Chinese and came to Europe with Marco Polo. Tomatoes are new world plants; wheat from northern Europe; basil, onions and garlic from the mid-east. Squash, corn and beans were planted by the Native Americans and called the ‘Three Sisters.’ Sweet potatoes from Central America and potatoes were from South America.

It was fun planting companion gardens with plants that helped each other. Like tomatoes love the herb basil and roses love garlic. Growing certain herbs and flowers near other plants to help control unwanted insects naturally. Didn't use any sprays except organic ones or some home made concoctions.

It was fun watching with him birds and butterflies come to the garden. Parsley is a food source for the caterpillar of the Swallowtail butterfly. It was fun to watch butterflies as they travel from flower to flower feeding on sweet nectar while excitement of fast-moving hummingbirds, provided hours of enjoyment on a late August afternoon.

One of his favorite little gardens was an Italian garden or pizza garden. He would grow all the plants that went into making pizza like wheat for the dough, tomatoes, basil, onions, garlic, sweet peppers, parsley and black pepper. He tried to show me how unlikely things could come together to make something wonderful. Here’s how to grow a garden pizza:

Choose a flat sight that drains quickly after a rain and has full sun, at least 8 hours a day. Locate the garden near source of water. Draw a large circle on the soil and remove the grass and till the soil to a depth of several inches. For my sister we used an old Hula Hoop for the circle. We used rocks to outline the pizza garden to form a ‘crust.’ Later in the summer we painted flowers and names of the plants that were planted in the Italian garden. You could also use a large round, low container filled with potting soil and have a garden pizza on your deck.

Divide the circle into six or more wedges and in each like the slices of pizza, plant one ingredient for your garden pizza. Tomatoes like Italian paste and onions are good choices for toppings as well as sauce ingredients. Other wedges may have basil, oregano, parsley, onions, garlic and other ingredients from your favorite pizza sauce recipe. It is fun to clip the basil for the pizza sauce or choose the biggest leaves for harvesting and grind the basil leaves to make our own pesto.

Dad even planted various types of lettuce and radishes to make salads to go along with the pizza and we grew carrots to make carrot cake for dessert. As the summer progressed and we made pizza, it was fun going to the garden and picking what was ready and adding it to the dinner. At the end of the gardening season and school had started the garden could easily be replanted in grass.

All of us gardeners love to share what we do because it is therapeutic, educational and you get if you grow a vegetable garden to eat the fruits of your success. When you go out in your garden this weekend, begin to think of gardening as an act of generosity. If you are practicing healthy and wise gardening techniques, you are leaving the earth a more beautiful and healthier place, not only for your own children and grandchildren, but for someone else’s children and grandchildren as well. I can think of no better way of contributing to the quality of this planet for future generations. Don’t minimize the difference that each of you Dad’s are making on this earth as gardeners. With that thought in mind, Happy Father’s Day!