Ready, Set, GROW!!!

Along with this second trimester came a whole bunch of motivation and the energy to get some serious projects done. Coincidentally, the apartment complex we live in just opened up some ground for a community garden and I got one of the free plots of ground! I've never done this successfully before so let's hope the moderate southern California weather makes my thumb a little greener.

So I went to the local hardware and gardening store and bought some starter plants for my little garden (which, by the way were all 20% off regular price). I was thinking about my mom the whole time I wandered about the gardening section. Memories of my mother dragging me around doing errands as a child and hitting several pungent-smelling greenhouses looking for the best deals danced through my head. I never knew what she bought, although I do have lots of memories of pink, purple and white petunias. Also thinking of my mom I bought a little hand trowel, a hand rake and a kneeling pad all in green because that's my mom's favorite color. Just a little tribute.

Here's what my little plot looked like all hand-tilled and fertilized:
(Boy that fertilizer/mulch was some stro-o-ong smelling stuff!)

I thought about my parents a lot as I planted each plant too. (Except for the strawberries. I was thinking about the husband as I planted the strawberries because they were his special request.) But with every other plant came memories of childhood and evening summer meals with fresh produce harvested from the garden that day. My parents have always had a large garden.

Garden memories I thought of today include:

• The scent of the tomato plants: Rows and rows of tomatoes in the field in front of our family house as a fund-raiser for the neighborhood scouts. As it was supervised by my dad, all of us kids participated in the very muddy process of inserting each tomato plant. Fun getting into mud fights with the older scouts by the end.
• Cantaloupe: Mom cutting up the fresh orange melon into "alligator teeth" and serving it to friends and me in the tree house as an afternoon snack.
• Zucchini and yellow crookneck squash: Although these days I prefer them sautéed, I have many dinner memories of these yellow and green steamed vegetables. Very tasty with a little butter, salt & pepper. Doesn't need anything else.
• I also planted green and yellow bell peppers and chilies, which I have no recollection of my parents growing. But taking the individual plants out of the mini plastic pot-things totally reminded me of planting petunias on summer Saturday mornings with my mom.

And here's what my little garden looks like now!

Boy, my mom and dad would be so proud!