The sprinkler is slowly undulating out back, swaying with its own rhythm, rhyming as it flows, like verses in a poem, back and forth, back and forth. I should be standing, holding the magic wand of water, I know. Less waste of water, more control of where the water goes. It is just that the gardens, front and back, and our little 10X10 plot at the community garden seem to take up much of my time these days; holding hoses, chasing weeds, and, mostly, oohing and aahing over Mother Nature’s bounty. I have so many things I want to tell and so little time. It seems someone has been stealing my moments these days. When I catch the little imp whose hiding my minutes, there will be consequences.
The little community garden our small committee of determined women started last spring has yielded a bounty of harvests, and even more goodwill, over these summer months. Each time I am there lately, there are other gardeners about, watering their plants, stringing vines, picking beans or digging up potatoes.
Tom and Gus, two buddies who share a plot, have such colorful eggplant growing, I may be convinced to try this vegetable one more time,
and, oh, the multitude of tomatoes, of every kind! From cherry tomatoes, to Big Boys and beyond, we have all been part of a picking frenzy. This one below, still green, has a ways to go to ripen. The family that tends this plot were busy watering it the other day. Mom, Dad, and two young boys. The youngest was about four years old, bored and hot and wanting to go home. The older son, who seemed to be about eight and reminded me of our grand-nephew Scott, was enjoying himself, however. When I asked why they decided to take on a plot, the father pointed to his older son and said “It was my boy there. He wanted to do this, and so, we did. We live in a condo, so this gives us a way to give our boy a garden.”
Oh, the delight in hearing this!. I asked the young lad if he was happy he had a garden, and he said he did and wants to do one next year. He then asked if the little flowers I had in the corners were marigolds (they are) and what the vines in my garden were. I told him zucchini. His father asked me if I knew what was growing, pointing to one of the plots. I gently pulled back stems and showed him the potatoes that were barely visible, hidden in the soil, to which his son told us how and when they should be harvested and pointed out where some had already been taken from the ground. He’d been doing some investigating on the computer, it seems.
Do you have any idea how much this conversation warmed my soul? How this family was able to enrich this curious young boy’s life, give him the experience of growing and tending a garden, teaching him to respect the earth, work with his hands, venture forth on a project – and how much respect I have for these parents in their endeavors? It made my day. My summer, in fact. It is what we are all about in this community project.
Then, there was the woman, yesterday, who squealed with glee from her plot. I shouted from over the ears of corn that separated us, “did you pull out a carrot?”. Yes. she had. I knew she’d been waiting and watching and surveying her soil for the right moment and her very first homegrown carrot. A middle aged woman and her newly claimed prize, never before attempted. A jewel in the soil of her life.
So, off I go now, my friend, for there a few peppers waiting for me in our own little plot of soil. It will go into tonight’s dinner pot, with a few of the tomatoes in the bowl up above as well. We saw the peppers just about ready to pick yesterday, when Tom was watering. That’s him, in yellow, just behind our neighbor’s row of corn, when I went to document the cantaloupe she has growing in her garden as well.
First, I need to turn that sprinkler off, then, see about those imps who have been harvesting my time . . .
I love gardens. This is such a delightful post!
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Thank you so much. Gardens give back so much, don’t they? Whether food or beauty – or both. A joy.
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A really heartwarming post for this blogger here, who is also a gardener but has little success with her vegetables because she wastes all her time growing flowers.
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Thank you, Friko. This has been quite an experiment for us, with a few failures, mostly achievements. Your garden and flowers look so lush and inviting; not a bit of time wasted, if you ask me.
I hope you are feeling a bit better.
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Penny, this is so full of hope and bounty. Gardening for the soul. When I was a child my father gave us all a garden plot, and at school each class grew a garden. Gardens plant values that last a lifetime. PS I think your minute-stealing imp has a cousin who has been busy at work over here. If you catch him, let me know. I imagine you shaking out a velvet bag, full of lost minutes!
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It is that, Juliet; “gardening for the soul”. I can always count on your words to to put all my thoughts right as they need to be. You are so dear. Thank you.
I recall you mentioning your father giving you all a garden plot and find that to be such a remarkable gift from a parent. In a way, the father I mention here is doing the same thing.
I will definitely let you know if I catch that imp, Juliet, and I’ll some of my lost minutes with you when I do.
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The community garden gave each of you much more than what was planted. That doesn’t sound right but I think you understand. I do hope it will continue in the future.
On an unhealthy note, have you ever had fried green tomatoes? I would give anything to fry that green one in the photo!
This has been something that you should be very proud of as it took a lot of time and persistence to pull it off. Congratulations on your efforts!
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How right you are, Marilyn, and it sounds right as rain to me.
Yes. I have had fried green tomatoes. When our book group read the book, “Fried Green Tomatoes at the Whistlestop Cafe”, Sharon, the evening’s hostess, made them for all of us – and they were wickedly delicious. If I could pluck that green one, I would give it to you. Not the best thing for any of us, but, once a year . . .
I do feel good about it, Marilyn, as does the rest of the committee. It feels good. Thank you, very much.
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I’m afraid that your imp has been here too, stealing more than minutes. I just realized that school starts next week and I am wondering where the summer went.
I love the family giving the boy his garden and sharing the time with him. So many things that children do have parents as spectators. A garden (or fishing) means that all are participating together. It is so much more than having the child as participant and parent as audience. This is how memories are made with families enjoying their bounty together. It is also a sneaky way to get children want healthier choices of food.
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Indeed, that imp has been here. In fact, he took a few minutes more yesterday. I’ll catch him, Janet. I will. tee hee
A garden, or a fishing pond; both do the same, involving both parent and child. How well you know this lesson, not only from Fishin’Pals and teaching, but, from your own parents’ examples. Talking with the parents and this young boy and watching them work together made my heart sing – and, yes, it is a sneaky way to foster healthier choices.
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How absolutely wonderful to read this report from your community garden, Penny. It is so lovely to know beyond doubt that all the original effort was well placed. I think we are all enthusiastic with you, and delighted to learn that this young boy you’ve told us about is engaging in what will undoubtedly become a lifelong passion for gardening and the joy of harvesting his own vegetables! I think some little sprites have surely been stealing your time, but they’ve placed it in a very worthy effort! It will come to an end with the winter season, so I think you need to just lap up all the time with fellow community gardeners as you possibly can find! And I love fried green tomatoes, Penny. My grandmother was a fine southern cook! I have never been able to fry them up as well as she did, but I try! 🙂 That WAS a beautiful eggplant!
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Thank you, Debra. We have certainly reaped far more than we have sown with this little project. From my conversations, I know that the gardeners are sharing thoughts, and a few tomatoes, with each other as well. There are many ways to build communities, and this was one that has been delightful. I’m thinking that this young boy will be planting potatoes next year. He’d already been investigating potatoes online and really was animated when he realized that this was what was growing. Right you are,
Debra. Seize the moment time, especially in our climate where winter snow flies soon enough.
I’m suspecting that fried green tomatoes are flavored the best with shortening or lard, which none of us use anymore. I wonder what your grandmother used, but, suspect it was also the technique. Those southern cooks cannot be beat, can they?
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There is such pleasure to be had from nurturing a growing thing in the ground, watching it, helping it, and then being rewarded with a fabulous tasting fresh vegetable. The story of the boy and his patch of earth is lovely. I suspect he will remember this harvest as much more special than whatever score he gets on some computer game. My aubergines/eggplants are doing very well in Caunes, and I am expecting a bumper crop of tomatoes on my return. ( I was proud of myself, in having set up an automatic timed watering system for my potager while I am away…15 minutes at 7am and 15 minutes at 7pm…hopefully that will have been enough ! This is a great post Penny, heartwarming, as ever. Jx
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There certainly is, Janice. Well said, and I think you are right with what this young boy’s memories will be. I love the sound of aubergines. Must more elegant that eggplant. I hope we can see some of your bumper crop – and what you do with it. Good for you! Your own timed watering system. I could use one (or more) of those around here.
Thank you very much, Janice.
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That’s very inspiring! And kudos to the parents encouraging their child. Sadly, i know so many parents who wouldn’t be bothered.
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I do, too. These parents made far more of an investment in their son than the plants they purchased and are giving him far more than a garden. It takes time, almost every day now, to go over to the plot, haul a hose to the spigot, water and weed and harvest, and the whole family is involved.
Thank you so much.
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I’m glad I read this near lunchtime, Penny. Now I can go eat…….
I’m so glad this project has turned out to be even more rewarding than you imagined. I’d enjoy meeting all these new people and hearing their stories, just like you seem to.
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Glad to tempt your appetite, Andra. Hope you had a tasty lunch.
Thank you. It has been so much more of a joy than I expected. Each one does have a story and it is fun to catch small snippets of each.
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BTW-bacon grease for the fried green tomatoes. So wicked but so good and I can’t make excuses!
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Now you’ve gone and done it, Marilyn. Bacon grease! Of course. Let’s see, first I’ll make some BLT’s, so I can use up some of the tomatoes, then, so as not to waste the bacon grease . . . tee hee. Wickedly good. Actually, I allow us to eat one meal of BLT’s a summer, so . . .
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I’m so happy those time-stealing imps left you enough moments to share this with us. The story of the little boy and his family warmed my heart; And I can only imagine how thrilled you (as a founder” of the garden) must feel. What an amazing contribution your group has made to the community.
This post really really really deserves to be published in a gardening magazine or …
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Me too, Sallie. They’ve left me a few moments, those little imps.
I’m so pleased to hear that. It really is what life is all about, isn’t it? These little things that we do in the communities we live in, even the mobile ones – even online. Thank you, though, for your kind, kind thoughts. You’ve made my day, dear friend.
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Absolutely wonderful.
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Thank you, Teresa.
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Such a heart-warming post, Penny. Well done, those enlightened parents!
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I could not agree more, Perpetua. They did do “well’ in this garden of life with their son.
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The little boy sounds like he has a vocation, Penny: what a love of growing things, and the soil, in one so young. And I cannot help thinking that he has a lifetime of happiness and satisfaction before him.
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I do hope so, Kate. With good parenting like this, he is off to a good start in so many ways.
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In Ireland an eggplant is called an “aubergine”, which sounds much more appetizing, don’t you think so? Great post Penny, made me both hungry AND gave me the urge to weed my tiny ‘garden’!
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I do agree, Janet. Maybe I would like them more if they were called “aubergine” here as well. I’m thinking this is also a color in one of those big, big boxes of Crayolas. A friend passed on a recipe for eggplant lasagna. I may have to give that a try. I must be the only Greek around who doesn’t like mousaka.
Hope your weeding went well. Now that I’m back home, I need to get some of that done as well.
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Mousaka is my favorite Greek food, but something I gave up eating when I became a vegetarian. Now I’m thrilled when I find a restaurant that makes a vegetarian version – and I’ve never been disappointed in it!
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I really am going to have to give eggplant a try now, Janet. You’ve impressed me enough that I will. thanks.
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