It is the first week of spring. Daniel loved to garden. Even before the first day of spring he began preparing for planting season. He read gardening magazines, and checked planting times for our "zone". I remember some special gardening incidents from years gone by.
In preparation for planting:
I remember coming home from work one day in February, to find all of these little square planting boxes lined up on my kitchen counter and the table. Needless to say I did not immediately take to this new planting strategy. He explained to me that he was growing his own starter plants. This way he would not have to buy all his tomato, pepper, and other plants from the store. Let me explain. At the time we lived in Iowa in a two bedroom house that did not have a garage or storage facility or even a basement. Iowa in February, get the picture. :) I knew by the look on his face, he felt the starter plants would be just fine there on the counter and the table. They would get plenty of sunlight, and he would be able to keep a close eye on them. We finally came to a tense agreement. He would move them to the back of the table and off the counter. They ended up on top of the refrigerator, the washer, dryer, and on a chair in the front entry way. I was never so glad to see spring.
A bumper crop gone astray:
Daniel was not what you would call a conventional gardener. He was always looking for different ways to plant things. Yes, we had the upside down tomatoes hanging from the front porch. On this particular occasion, he had planted cucumbers in every available container he could find at the time. Lined them all up on the front porch. Ours was a cement porch. One step up from the sidewalk that ran in front of the house. This was a great year for cucumbers. They flourished in that spot. Their vines extended from the containers out over the edge of the porch, down the step onto the sidewalk. Wonderfully loaded with cucumbers. We had a lot of salad that year. Daniel loved cucumbers so he would go out and pick one, peel it and eat it. He was thrilled with his bumper crop.
Picnic table feast:
Daniel also loved jalapeno peppers. He never planted things in a small way. This particular year he was trying the bucket planting method. I am not sure how many buckets of peppers he had. Let's just say it was enough to fill the top of the picnic table and both benches. The table was set strategically in the middle of our front yard. To get the full picture, I must give you a little background. Our yard was the main thoroughfare for the local deer population. Daniel had befriended a pair of orphaned twin fawns. He fed them corn and made sure they had water. They felt that his picnic table full of plants was a special buffet he had set up just for them. When the plants began to bloom, they came by and feasted to their hearts content on the blossoms. Daniel began to wonder why his beautiful plants were not producing any peppers. Mystery was solved one day when he caught them feasting at the table. He was furious with them. Out he went, no not with the shot gun, with the broom. Chasing and yelling and running around the yard. It was a sight to behold!! The deer simply ran to the woods on the west side of the house and waited for him to settle down. He would not sooner get in the house until they were back feasting again. Finally, he went to the garden store and purchased some "deer repellent". After a full dousing of that, the buffet was closed. The plants bloomed on and we had more jalapenos than we knew what to do with. We gave them to anyone we knew who liked "hot"peppers.We even froze them. I still had bags of peppers to give away when we began packing to move.
These are just a few memories I have of spring. When we moved to Washington, Daniel began staking out his garden spot. I am sad to say he did not get to enjoy it. It took him those first months to get it ready. He started to go downhill health wise after that. He did have one crowning glory out here. We bought two big decorative pots for the back patio. He planted, no not flowers.....wait for it.......Zucchini in them. :) When I came home from my trip to Iowa, there they were all bloomed out. They were beautiful in those pots. It was a bumper crop again. We had more zucchini than we knew what to do with. In fact I still have two bags in the freezer. I may just keep them for sentimental reasons. When I look at his garden spot, all grown over with grass and weeds, I think of how hard he worked to make it. I wish I was able to take care of it for him. I am sadden because I can not.
These are some of the things I miss. Isn't it strange that we do not know what we will miss about a person until they are gone? When I was being frustrated with garden stuff planted (in what seemed to me) all the wrong places, I did not realize that would be one of the things I missed most about my Daniel.
I say this to encourage those of you who read this to cherish the one you have with you. Even the things they do that frustrate you to pieces. Say to yourself, I am blessed to have him or her with me, frustrations and all.
In preparation for planting:
I remember coming home from work one day in February, to find all of these little square planting boxes lined up on my kitchen counter and the table. Needless to say I did not immediately take to this new planting strategy. He explained to me that he was growing his own starter plants. This way he would not have to buy all his tomato, pepper, and other plants from the store. Let me explain. At the time we lived in Iowa in a two bedroom house that did not have a garage or storage facility or even a basement. Iowa in February, get the picture. :) I knew by the look on his face, he felt the starter plants would be just fine there on the counter and the table. They would get plenty of sunlight, and he would be able to keep a close eye on them. We finally came to a tense agreement. He would move them to the back of the table and off the counter. They ended up on top of the refrigerator, the washer, dryer, and on a chair in the front entry way. I was never so glad to see spring.
A bumper crop gone astray:
Daniel was not what you would call a conventional gardener. He was always looking for different ways to plant things. Yes, we had the upside down tomatoes hanging from the front porch. On this particular occasion, he had planted cucumbers in every available container he could find at the time. Lined them all up on the front porch. Ours was a cement porch. One step up from the sidewalk that ran in front of the house. This was a great year for cucumbers. They flourished in that spot. Their vines extended from the containers out over the edge of the porch, down the step onto the sidewalk. Wonderfully loaded with cucumbers. We had a lot of salad that year. Daniel loved cucumbers so he would go out and pick one, peel it and eat it. He was thrilled with his bumper crop.
Picnic table feast:
Daniel also loved jalapeno peppers. He never planted things in a small way. This particular year he was trying the bucket planting method. I am not sure how many buckets of peppers he had. Let's just say it was enough to fill the top of the picnic table and both benches. The table was set strategically in the middle of our front yard. To get the full picture, I must give you a little background. Our yard was the main thoroughfare for the local deer population. Daniel had befriended a pair of orphaned twin fawns. He fed them corn and made sure they had water. They felt that his picnic table full of plants was a special buffet he had set up just for them. When the plants began to bloom, they came by and feasted to their hearts content on the blossoms. Daniel began to wonder why his beautiful plants were not producing any peppers. Mystery was solved one day when he caught them feasting at the table. He was furious with them. Out he went, no not with the shot gun, with the broom. Chasing and yelling and running around the yard. It was a sight to behold!! The deer simply ran to the woods on the west side of the house and waited for him to settle down. He would not sooner get in the house until they were back feasting again. Finally, he went to the garden store and purchased some "deer repellent". After a full dousing of that, the buffet was closed. The plants bloomed on and we had more jalapenos than we knew what to do with. We gave them to anyone we knew who liked "hot"peppers.We even froze them. I still had bags of peppers to give away when we began packing to move.
These are just a few memories I have of spring. When we moved to Washington, Daniel began staking out his garden spot. I am sad to say he did not get to enjoy it. It took him those first months to get it ready. He started to go downhill health wise after that. He did have one crowning glory out here. We bought two big decorative pots for the back patio. He planted, no not flowers.....wait for it.......Zucchini in them. :) When I came home from my trip to Iowa, there they were all bloomed out. They were beautiful in those pots. It was a bumper crop again. We had more zucchini than we knew what to do with. In fact I still have two bags in the freezer. I may just keep them for sentimental reasons. When I look at his garden spot, all grown over with grass and weeds, I think of how hard he worked to make it. I wish I was able to take care of it for him. I am sadden because I can not.
These are some of the things I miss. Isn't it strange that we do not know what we will miss about a person until they are gone? When I was being frustrated with garden stuff planted (in what seemed to me) all the wrong places, I did not realize that would be one of the things I missed most about my Daniel.
I say this to encourage those of you who read this to cherish the one you have with you. Even the things they do that frustrate you to pieces. Say to yourself, I am blessed to have him or her with me, frustrations and all.
