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We Grow Love #GroSomethingGreater

This post brought to you by Miracle-Gro. All opinions are 100% mine.

When I was single, I never thought I’d be the type of woman who’d work from home to be close to her children. I never thought I’d be the type to lovingly cook meals at home to make sure everything her family ate was healthy. I was a career gal, had my laundry sent out, and bought every gadget and appliance imaginable that took over chores I didn’t have time to do.

Things changed once our son was born. For the first time, we weren’t living for ourselves alone, and no longer wanted to. I wanted to give everything to my family, and do all I could to make sure my family was happy. Buying and doing for myself alone was part of a far, far past that no longer seemed relevant, because all my heart was now laying a few feet away from me, and all I wanted was to protect and love him.

My dad is a gardener, and for our entire lives grew delicious fruits and vegetables to feed the family he loved. Our yard was always lush with amazing vegetation, and we only had to go out and pick what we wanted to eat, and we always felt loved by the father that did this for us.

penelope guzman photography

I changed careers so I could be home with my boys, and take care of our home and family. I cook from scratch so I know exactly what my family is eating, and I drive them everywhere so I know they are safe door to door. Like my dad, I grow veggies in my yard because I want my family to have the very best, and there are no healthier vegetables than those I grow in my own garden. I grow because I adore my family, and want the meals that grace our table to be the healthiest and most delicious I can offer. We are growing boys into gentlemen… we are growing love.

Miracle-Gro helps gardeners grow, so they can spend their time doing what they love, whether it’s spending time teaching a grandchild to garden, beautifying their neighborhood with flowers, or feeding their family with their garden’s produce. Why do you grow? Share your personal stories at Gro Something Greater, and be inspired by the stories of others.

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  • Donna

    I love eating veggies out of my own garden (and my f-i-l’s garden). They taste so much better and I know they’re organic. I always use Miracle-Gro in my vegetable and flower garden.

  • We want to grow our own food. Our children seem to try more veggies that they grow themselves. Plus, we are growing as a part of our farm business.

  • Raijean

    I love the idea of gardening! Maybe it’s something new we could try.

  • We use to use Miracle Gro for years. I am not in a house anymore, but will pick some up when I start my seeds.

  • I’ve been saying this for years but one day I’d love to have a garden.

  • I’m going to attempt a bigger garden this year with more variety. Last year all I had was tomatoes in my garden.

  • Sounds like you have a great mindset and your family is lucky to have you as “mom”. I always thought growing vegetables would be neat but I have never actually tried to make a garden.

  • Lovely picture! Gardening is something that I have loved doing since as a teenager. I have never grown vegetables before, though, but I’d love to attempt to do this someday.

  • There are definitely sacrifices in having kids but they are great 🙂 What a fun campaign to really connect with others.

  • I love to grow a garden full of vegetables and flowers, because it makes me feel closer to nature, and because there is nothing else that tastes as good as vegetables fresh from the garden. I love to set the table with a vase full of flowers cut from my own yard, too, to make it a more pleasant atmosphere while we are eating.

  • I also enjoy showing my family love through homecooked organic meals.

  • I love the idea of gardening! I just wish I had a yard to do it.

  • Mickey

    I would love to have a nice garden in the back yard. We’ve talked about it for a few years but need to actually do it. 🙂

  • I adore that photo, Penelope. 🙂

    Yes, we grow veggies — hoping to add more beds this year.

  • We use Miracle-Gro in our garden too. My mother-in-law swears by it and is very loyal to this brand. I love the spin you put on this post. Like you, I never dreamed I’d be the stay-at-home/work-at-home mother in a million years. Now I wouldn’t change it for anything.

  • We have always used Miracle Gro, great product, love the picture!!

  • I agree that a garden is love… in so many ways.

  • I tried to start a flower garden with the boys last year, but then we went on our summer trip and by the time we got home they were all dead. We are going to try to do a fall garden this year though.

  • Like your dad I love growing vegetables in our garden. I’m so looking forward to getting our seedlings into the ground and picking that first ripe tomato or batch of lettuce and mesclun.

  • It is amazing how motherhood changes us! As I grow as a mother and a wife, I too want nothing but to protect my family and do everything I can to “grow them” into the most wonderful unit.

  • My husband wants to garden this year and we’ve been pricing things to see how much it’ll cost. I’ve heard of Miracle Grow but never used it but I’ll definitely check it out, for sure.

  • This is such a sweet post! I can’t really grow anything due to lack of space and extreme heat, but I really wish I could. In the meantime, I make sure I buy good food from the store.

  • You’re growing love and healthy boys – definitely the best career change!

  • I seriously have a black thumb and with the drought here in Texas, I’m not even sure what I could grow. I saw some hanging strawberry baskets at the nursery the other day though that I think I could manage. I think we did a good job growing a young lady though, we think she turned out pretty awesome 😉

  • That is so wonderful that your father did that for you. Now you are doing that for your family. It’s a wonderful thing to pass on.

  • What a great momma you are!! Looks like you really do have so much love and compassion and it is nice to see you are there for all the important milestones of your kids life!! I love having a garden!! I can’t wait for us to start one this year!!

  • Miracle-Gro has some wonderful and amazing quality’s you wouldn’t believe how beautiful the flowers turned out that I planted last year

  • I love that you changed careers to be home with your boys. That picture is adorable, by the way.

  • I would love to be able to grow my own vegetables like you do. So hard to do in the desert.