Go Garden Go

"It is utterly forbidden to be half-hearted about gardening. You have got to love your garden whether you like it or not." ~W.C. Sellar & R.J. Yeatman, Garden Rubbish, 1936

After Death Boxes 2010, I resorted to reseeding a few plants and hitting up my local nursery for even more.

I love visiting my nursery. Sure, sometimes the prices are better at Lowe's and OSH and Home Depot. Sure, they're all open later. But there's something rather fantastic about wandering through a local garden shop - the variety, the friendliness, the sheer passion of the employees.

On one excursion, I spent almost an hour talking to an employee about soil while Joseph wandered with two other employees, helping them turn off the fountains, lock the gates, restock the plants.

This last trip almost made me cry with joy. The tomatoes were in.

Table after table of beautiful heirloom tomatoes, their verdant leaves calling me, their names rolling off my tongue - Black Krim, Brandywine, Cherokee Purple. Little description plaques enticed me - "heavy yielding, golden fruit", "sweetly spicy", "plump globes of blushing pink". They were as seductive as a romance novel.

Is it any wonder that I left with a cart full?

In addition to the twelve tomatoes (six of which are Romas), I still have seedlings waiting to be picked up at Tara's house. My wonderful garden junkie friend actually grew her tomatoes from seeds. And they lived! Obviously, it was best all around for her to keep them until all danger of frost was past.

Wandering around my tomato plants are bell peppers, eggplant, zucchini, yellow squash, jalapenos, spinach, Romaine, onions, garlic, oregano, dill, basil, thyme, yellow wax beans, green beans, scarlet runners, Lima beans, peas, purple emperor, cowpeas and black beans. Containers hold spicy baby greens, carrots, radishes, strawberries, blueberries and my springtime favorite - pansies. Sprouting tiny green buds are the grapes, blackberries, raspberries, lemon and orange tree. And that espaliered apple? Gorgeous. The best part? I still have half, if not more, of my garden to plant.

Hold please while I squeal in joy. Those with small gardens will understand.

There's something about my garden that calls to my soul. I love to stand outside, water hose in hand, while the sun shines warm upon my face. I zen out to the sound of my children playing and water drops sparkling. It's one of the best feelings in the world.