Dream Gardening

By Jennifer Dean

Do you garden? If so you are probably like me. Each winter you sit down with the catalogs and begin planning out your spring garden. As spring rolls around you find even more garden catalogs arriving in your mailbox. Your dream garden is put together in your mind or on paper. Then reality arrives! The soil is poor requiring lots of watering; you are so busy weeding falls by the wayside. The bugs eat the green beans; worms invade the watermelon and cantaloupe patch. Sound familiar? Despite all these problems I still love to garden.

When I was 12 my parents moved my brother, sister, and I out to the country and our gardening adventures began. My Dad got serious about it and bought a large Troy Bilt Roto tiller. We moved a number of times. I have lived in 13 homes since I was born. We had many different soils to try out! I have a lot of memories of my brother, sister, and I working in the garden. When we lived in the Ozarks of southern Missouri for a year, we found ourselves “rock weeding”. As we drove around the countryside it was easy tell which garden plots had been cared for a long time. They were free of rocks having been picked out over the years. One year my Dad decided to plant 75 Roma tomato plants (we never did find out why). That summer we canned every type of tomato sauce we could think of! Then for the next 2 years we were sick of Roma tomatoes. It still makes me queasy to remember that never ending tomato smell as we canned!

I love the early mornings as a time to get the weeding done. The birds are singing and it’s still cool. I take after my Mom and don’t do well in the heat. I start a project and don’t like to stop until I’m done. I find myself out in the garden weeding, weeding, and more weeding. The next thing I know I feel like I’m going to pass out, I'm sun burnt because I forgot my suntan lotion, and my arms and legs are broke out from weed allergies. Yet there is a joy knowing you are growing your own food, being outside, getting work accomplished, watching your plants grow. Yes, I do love my gardens!

There are so many discussions about organic gardening these days. The pesticides and fertilizers in the vegetables and the condition of the soil on many farms are a concern. As I read it convinces me to try to grow my own vegetables. Even if you don’t have access to big garden plots like I do, you could check out container gardening. I’m reading and learning a great deal about all these issues with our food.

This year I’m not going to plant in my 2 big gardens. I have too many things to get in order. I can’t do and be everything all at one time. (I’m learning this slowly!) I want to help my Mom get some container gardening going on her patio. Her health does not allow her to continue with garden plots. She has a small strawberry patch I put in for her 2 years ago. I would love to expand it. Strawberries are my favorite fruit. You can’t buy them in the store tasting the same as growing your own. I would like to plant some Asparagus this year. When I was little my Grandpa R. gave me some canned Asparagus. I remember thinking, “This must be what slime taste like!” I have avoided it since then. A neighbor recently gave me a huge sack full of fresh Asparagus. I know other people love it. I brought it to church for potluck and was given advice on stir frying it in a skillet with butter. I tried a bite of it and it was delicious!

I have my dream garden and orchard down on paper. Someday I’ll get it planted. It will be beautiful! Have any great soil to donate?


The Dream Orchard

If you have ever watched the Anne of Green Gables movie you will recall Matthew taking Anne home from the train station. They drove through an apple orchard in bloom. That began my dream orchard ideas. These have been revised a number of times. I had never lived in one home long enough to start the orchard.

It will be a “secret” orchard. It will be lined on 2 sides with flowering dogwood trees with Mock Orange shrubs in between. French Lilac bushes will be planted on the shorter 2 sides. One end of the garden will allow enough room to pass through the Lilac bushes with an arbor in the opening. Landscape roses will back up the closed end of French Lilac bushes and have a garden bench in front. The orchard will have blueberry bushes, Fall Gold Raspberries, a nectarine tree, peach trees, apple trees, a cherry tree, grapes, kiwi, and a pear tree. I need walnuts, pecans, and almonds trees. Doesn’t it sound wonderful? My dream gardens are so much fun!
Enjoy your gardens!