The rewards of gardening

Well, hello again! I’ve missed you! What have you been doing this summer? I’ve been pretending to be a gardener. Good grief, folks. My poor little garden. I don’t know if it’s the lack of rain, or if it’s the lack of this so-called gardener’s brain! Ha ha!

I have a little chunk of earth — probably 30-by-15 feet — that has been tenderly cared for and, dare I say, almost weed-free. It was so pretty when my plants were youngsters. They were all where they were meant to be, and did what they were told, with very little talking back. Now that they’re all grown, they want to do anything they can to disobey me and grow wherever and however they please. Shameful. Just shameful.

My tomatoes (I have Big Boys and Romas) are tiny and green, although the plants themselves look like Medusa’s hair: Huge and wild and crazy, to say the least. One of the little buggers even uprooted its cage. Lord, have mercy.

My eggplant are well-behaved, except the poor things have been eaten alive by beetles. I tried the traps, but it seems like all they did was lure more bugs. Ugh.

The green peppers are just weird. The plants are small and twiggy, but the peppers are yummy. Little, but yummy.

I have more green beans than I know what to do with. We have them for dinner a few nights a week, and I’ve been giving what seems like truckloads to my brother, my uncle and my neighbors.

Those poor people. They’re also being overwhelmed with zucchini. I am laughing my face off every time I deliver them. One of these days while I’m walking up the steps to knock on the door, I just know I’m going to hear, “what the heck are we supposed to do with all this zucchini!”  You’re welcome.

The cucumbers died, the cantaloupe look like they’re from another planet, I planted the carrots way too close together, and I have a random cherry tomato plant in the middle of my beans that I didn’t put there. Interesting.

Every year, I learn a few more ‘what not to do’s’ with my garden, and I’m getting there. I’m not even close to being able to add ‘gardener’ to my business card, but I’ll keep trying, and one day, I just might get there.

Go make something awesome,

Jen