About Sunny Wren Gardens

Serving you by sharing tips, ideas, and inspiration to help you grow pretty & productive outdoor gardens.

We grow our gardens smack dab in the middle of the Midwest in the 5B growing zone. If you were to visit our place, you would discover that the landscaping is evolving year after year. I love adjusting the designs and adding a sprinkling of new plants each growing season. You’d also find plenty of fruit & vegetable varieties in the food gardens that give us plenty of organic food to enjoy fresh & preserve for the colder months.

And if you were to visit our place, you’d instantly notice that our gardens aren’t adults-only. There is always, always space for our kids to plant whatever type of plants excite them. Our daughter always chooses a wild assortment of flowers, and our son chooses his plants based on their color. They have their must-haves in the vegetable gardens, too. (Last year they had to have popcorn.) Watching them experiment, care for their crops, and light up at harvest time is such a joy!

Gardening for Food Production

I love the entire process from seed to table. Actually, it starts before the seed with the dream. I love planning out what types of plants and how many of them to grow for my family. It is so fulfilling to snuggle up in the winter, browsing all of the seed catalogs, and choosing old and new-to-me varieties to spice things up. I think of recipes I want to make in the heat of the summer using fresh from the garden ingredients (this is one of my favorites!)

While you can absolutely create a productive garden in a small space (containers, window boxes, etc.) my specialty is raised beds & rows. I’d love to help you get your garden off to a great start (and offer you some tips along the way!)

Consider yourself a beginner gardener? Check out the New Garden Basics category of posts to get started!

Gardening for Beauty

Creating a beautiful outdoor garden space will do more than just supply your eyes with something pretty to see. Here is a short list of things your garden will do for you:

give you a chance to get great exercise and improve your strength
reduce stress
boost serotonin levels
boost your exposure to vitamin D
and create opportunities for bonding with your family, friends, and community.

Another benefit of adding beauty to your backyard is that you automatically create a pollinator habitat (as long as you ditch the chemicals.) It’s hard to put into words, but there is just something about watching the bees and other pollinators bop around the brightly colored flowers that are sprinkled throughout the gardens.

Gardening to Cultivate Family Fun

During the growing season, I spend large amounts of time in our gardens with my family. As the kids have grown, they have learned about their environment in countless ways. There is fun to be found wherever you look, and there is nothing like watching little sprouts burst out of the soil with your kids. The freedom to wonder and the simple joys discovered in a garden can be childhood-changing.

Looking for a little help on how to involve the kids? Check out our comprehensive beginner’s guide!

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