A Love Of Gardening,
From Seeds To Blossoms
Of all the outdoor activities, planting a garden has to be one of my favorites. It’s something that my husband and I have enjoyed together since we started dating, most likely because as young children, we both shared a love for working in the family garden.
I recall my father’s garden, which was a small 20 foot square plot that resided just beyond my mother’s bedroom window. Every spring, he would head over to Agway on West John Street to purchase tomato plants, pepper plants, parsley seedlings and seed packets for my sister and I. He managed to always bring home an Italian basil plant for my mother, who used the fragrant leaves in her Sunday tomato sauce, as well as pesto for her grilled steak. The yard always saw a lot of sunlight, so Dad’s garden was very successful. He once told me that everything he learned about gardening, he learned from my grandfather, who always had fruit trees and fabulous tomato plants every year. Dad would always build up a few rows in the dirt for my sister and me to sink our seeds. One year, we had fresh green beans; another year, we even managed to grow stalks of corn.
Once my husband and I purchased our home in Hicksville, the very first item on our agenda was to have a garden. Our backyard is very shady in spots, as we also have much tree cover. It’s wonderful during the heat of the season, but it’s not so wonderful for budding plants. After some careful consideration, my husband and I decided to plant in whiskey barrels and large planters. We also did a bit of reconfiguring to the yard, in order to accommodate a few berry bushes, some strawberry plants and a grape vine.
As our daughter grew, her love for gardening flourished. It thrilled her daily to run outside with her little green basket and gather vegetables and fruit that had ripened. Sometimes, the raspberries and blackberries didn’t reach our table, as she could be found on a regular basis behind the garage, chowing down on the sweet little morsels. Sometimes, the fruit stained the tips of her tiny fingers, and we realized that she’d already eaten whatever ripened on the vine. To this day, she revels in bringing in the “daily harvest,” although she no longer uses the little green basket to gather her bounty.
Last year, our blackberry bushes had a banner year. The berries were at least an inch in length, and I recall picking at least fifty berries per day. Some were given away, others were eaten, and still others were used in pancakes, scones and a wonderful homemade jelly. I’m hoping for another great berry season in 2015!
For the first time, my husband and I used seeds from last year’s harvest and began our own little garden in seed pots. I’m anxious to see tiny green leaves sprout from the soil to form sturdy plants that will become our Garden of 2015!
