The Garden

I came back from Vermont to find my garden tall and flourishing. I couldn't believe it. We just got back from seven weeks away and I had planted seeds and seedlings right before we left with the hope, but no conviction, that everything would survive in my absence. I know that gardens need a lot of love and attention to do well and there I was, a novice gardener leaving my babies for most of the summer. I put in an automatic drip watering system, knowing I would be a fool to rely on subleters or neighbors to keep up with the watering. But I was not expecting much more than survival. What I saw when I rounded the corner of my studio to the garden behind it astounded me. Beds thick with tall green plants! The corn I planted from kernels was three feet tall and the tomatoes I put in a week before leaving had outgrown their wire supports and were spread out all over everything. The pumpkin plants were crawling over and out of the beds and through the fence, and there were other squashes and beans growing in and around them. In biodynamic farming they talk about creating mini-ecosystems by planting different compatible plants close together. I felt as though I was staring at that theory. Everything was growing on top of everything else and it all looked very happy. I tasted a few purple string beans and was not disappointed. They had more flavor than any bean I've ever tasted. And the little tomatoes packed a sweet juicy punch. Mother nature delivered, and I am thrilled and grateful that my garden did well in my absence. It gives me tremendous confidence in myself as a student of the earth.