Wednesday, June 11, 2008
To the Garden
For some reason, this article about home gardening really cheered me up this morning. It actually made me think: "Take that Monsanto!" I know it's a ridiculous thought, that a handful of home gardeners could take a bite out of the corporate seed monster, moreover, I know it's entirely besides the point. But I like so much that people are just going out and digging into their own backyards. It's the kind of thrift and industry that David Brooks would approve of. After reading the whole article (even the repetitive parts), I turned to my husband and said, "This makes me want to garden." He gave me a look. Because he knows full well I've never wanted to garden, and the kind of follow through required by gardening has never been my best thing. Besides, we live in an apartment without a real windowsill, so I can't even have a window box with an herb garden and even if I could I probably wouldn't. But in a few years we might have a backyard. In a few years, I might have more time to garden and I might be better on the follow through. And maybe I'll put up some laundry lines so we can hang laundry out to dry, too! But I won't can. And I won't dry flowers. Dried flowers make me sad. In books they're always falling out of old bibles, and those scenes always make me weep, and gardening will be all about blooming possibility and composting for the future. Huzzah!
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7 comments:
Hi Robin,
I'm just several weeks into my first home vegetable garden since I was a child. It's been more fun for me (so far) than for our 3 year old, but I expect he'll get more interested when actual beans, peas, etc. start growing. I had to explain that we can't grow bananas here in Seattle.
It's hard that you can't grow bananas in Seattle, but having worked banana tress in my past I'd say you're lucky! and Bravo on the veggies! Thanks for checking in!
I now have my very first garden and I'm really surprised and amazed at how easy it has been so far. What I mean to say is... come live in Wisconsin! It's fantastic out here! People actually LIKE children out here! There are train tables and coloring books in every restaurant and store! Well, at least come visit! nkdolin.blogspot.com for pictures of my new garden
No need to can, when you can freeze. And you'll need to do something with the zillions of extra tomatoes you end up with when, for some reason, you decide that putting in 15 tomato plants is a good idea.
Gardening grows on you, and I'll bet your kids would enjoy it when they're a bit older. My 2 little nieces (5 and 7), city kids, love to visit and see what's growing. They're excellent at watering, not to mention dumping weeds on the compost pile.
Did you say "having worked banana trees?" Please describe. I cannot picture it.
Yes, the summer after my Junior year of high school I spent three weeks on a kibbutz in Israel and our work was tending to banana trees. We just cut away at the extra leaves -- I think it was "make work" but we worked hard at it....one day i drove a tractor. not well, mind you, but I did it. All this to say, banana groves make for sticky messy business where it's not so easy to drive in a straight line.
And Sue, it's good to learn that freezing can actually replace canning. I think my kids would love it, actually. My son loves nothing more than making mud at my parents' house and then raking it up -- more directed activity will have to wait. I'm just such a bad organizer -- buying seeds, deciding on plants, it could take me months and then the season would be over! Now I must go check out Su'es blog...
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