Simple pleasures of green!

I remember what springtime meant when I was a wee one ... dreaded trips to the garden nursery to pick out boring plants and flowers. Don't get me wrong, I always enjoyed drawing lines and poking little holes in the dirt with my fingers in preparation for planting the seeds in the big vegetable garden Dad always masterminded when we were growing up. (Yes, masterminded ... he always had it perfectly laid out so that the water would trickle down, the tall plants wouldn't leave the others without sun ...) And I loved harvesting (and eating!) our bounty when the crunchy corn and oh-so-sweet peas, beans, carrots, lettuce, potatoes etc. etc. was finally ready for pickin'. Few would argue, I think, of the extreme superiority of home grown food.

But anything between the actually planting and the harvesting I despised. Weeding? No thank you. More visits to the garden nursery. Pass. Gardening was boring. Years later, I went to work with "the" landscaping crew ... and quite honestly didn't mind it. I got to bask in the sun, play in the mud and use my hands while I daydreamed the day away.

I never would have imagined getting excited to start my own garden though. Gardens are for "old" people, remember? Yesterday, though we got the urge and decided it was time to turn the balcony into a garden. Taking advantage of having a car in town, Marcel and I headed off to the do-it hardware/garden store like two little kids (is that a fair analogy now that I've said kids don't like those kinds of stores??) ... running up and down the aisles trying to decide what to plant in our garden.

By the time we got home, we had four "garden boxes" ... one for the herb garden - full of basil, oregano, rosemary and cilantro, one for "the salads" - full of lettuce and a single stalk of corn (which we've later learned needs a friend to cross-pollinate with), one for the onions and leeks and one for the wild flowers. Then of course there are the hanging baskets, tomato plant and various other small containers planted with leftover seeds of the aforementioned.

It had been forever since either one of us played in dirt, dug holes for seeds and broke up the roots on the little "sapling" plants ... how easy it is to forget what a simple pleasure it is! Betsy, the big basil plant and I have been bonding for the last three months and it's amazing how just the simple stepping-out-onto-the-balcony to pick some fresh basil for dinner can bring such a smile ... not to mention wonderful freshness ...

So now that I'm ready to admit that I love going to flower festivals and having my own garden ... does that mean I'm old???