The seed and shrub catalogs arrived late last year, but I’ve really started looking in earnest the past few days. I went to the barn and put some gas in my tractor and cranked it up just to hear the sound of the engine. Gardens are magical things that Jilda and I have done almost every year we’ve been married. We both start getting a little antsy just before time to plant.
Last year, we didn’t do a garden. Practically all our free time was spent caring for our mom’s so we made a labored decision not to have one and I think we both regretted it during the summer and fall. Gardens are a lot of work, but the nature of the work is such that we don’t mind at all. In fact, digging in the earth is a form of therapy for us both.
People with whom I work make fun of me when I tell them we do a garden. “Why don’t you just go to
Wal-Mart and buy vegetables. You can buy all the fruit and vegetables you want at a fraction of the cost,” they chide. But anyone who has ever planted a garden, nursed it with tender loving care and harvested the bounty with their own hands would simply smile and shake their heads at someone so naive. And anyone how has ever enjoyed a sandwich made with fresh tomatoes grown in your own garden will know exactly what I mean.
I’ve ordered some blueberry bushes and I just recently planted a fig sprout given to me by a neighbor. Fruit trees are an investment. We planted apple trees over 20 years ago and now each year we eat green apples and later delicious red apples. We also have pair trees, and a pecan tree that will probably only be enjoyed by the folks who get our farm after we pass on but that’s OK. It’s our gift to a future generation.
The weatherman says that we still have plenty of cold weather headed our way so I’ll have to bide my time looking at Stark Brothers catalogs and thinking about them fresh mater sandwiches.
As you know, my husband is quite a gardener, especially good at growing tomatoes. Do you ever raise kale? We want to try it.
ReplyDelete