Joanna Gaines Shares A Photo Of Her Kids' First Garden To Celebrate Her New Book

Joanna Gaines hasn't been on TV for a short while, but that doesn't mean she hasn't been busy. The home-improvement goddess and her husband Chip are said to be developing a network, there's her brood of five and, oh yeah, her Magnolia design empire. Her newest project? A book for kids. And on Tuesday, Gaines shared a photo of her kids' first garden to celebrate the launch of her new children's book.

Gaines' new children's book, We Are the Gardeners, which is also co-written by her sweet kids, according to the cover, celebrates Gaines' love for the outdoors, and her belief that working outdoors in nature is a great way to connect with your kids, according to Entertainment Cheat Sheet.

The interiors expert didn't actually become a gardener until a bit later in life, the website quoted Gaines as saying on her Magnolia blog.

"I didn’t get into gardening until we moved to the farm," Gaines answered in response to a fan's question, as Entertainment Cheat Sheet noted. "It was all trial and error and a lot of research. Texas climate is hot so I had to figure out what to plant and when. I never had a green thumb but I realized quickly all plants need is sun and water! I go out to the garden and greenhouse every evening to water my plants and I don’t think of it as a chore."

She then gave the fan a bit of encouragement to get out into the garden themselves. "It’s so rewarding to see plants thriving and blooming so beautifully ... Find plants that work in the sun and that work in the shade, and tend to them frequently. Once you see these beauties doing their thing, I promise you’ll get into it!”

And while she might not have been a natural gardener, do you really think Gaines, whose home goods are now everywhere from Target to Anthropologie, is the type to not excel at a new DIY project? Come on!

Still, Gaines herself started small with planting projects and advised others to do so on her blog.

As for the new book on the topic, Gaines shared on Instagram her fond memories of being outdoor when her bigger kids were small: "I was working from home at the time and I wanted to find a creative way to connect with the kids," she wrote.

"So we planted this little garden in the backyard and it ended up becoming our favorite thing to do together. What I didn't realize was how much the garden would teach us," she continued. "It wasn't just the kids that were learning new things, I learned so many valuable lessons as well."

The book, which is now available in stores and online, according to Gaines' social media, offers up anecdotes about the clan's gardening adventures over the years (in addition to baby Crew, Jo and Chip have Drake, Ella, Duke, Emmie Kay, all of whom recently enjoyed a Mexican beach getaway).

For true Gaines aficionados, the tome goes behind-the-scenes with the fam as they lived and learned while navigating the gardening experience. For example, apparently the clan discovered too late that if you have bunnies in your yard, your plants are not safe.

If you're still not sure about trying out your own thumb at home, House Beautiful noted back in 2016 that Gaines wrote on her blog that a small herb garden is a great place to start. And that sounds doable for fans like me, who don't have a lot of confidence, based on the poor performance of past houseplants.

Leave it to the Gaines crew to inspire even an indoor type of mom such as myself to break out a shovel and hit the nursery. Wish me and my kids luck, because if the Fixer Upper mama thinks I can do it, I'll give it a try.