Gardens

Flower gardens don't interest me much.  But vegetable gardens do! Back when I lived in Sackville, N.B., we had space for a big organic vegetable garden in our back yard.  We even got some seaweed from near our cottage to fertilize it.  Today I still dream of preparing the garden for planting in the spring.

One thing we grew there was peas.  In season we'd go out and gather tons of pods, then take them in and unshell them one at a time.  A single pod usually had up to eight peas, but on occasion I'd find one with nine or even ten!

We'd maintain a big pile of compost.  I have a way of viewing things in which a garden's primary function is to produce compost to put back into it, and vegetables and stuff are just a by-product!

Today I still have a garden in our Toronto back yard, but it's a lot smaller.  We just removed a pair of big trees that limited its sunlight, so this year we got a ton of Yukon Gold potatoes.  I've expanded its area, and next year we'll be more ambitious, with peas and head crops like cabbage. (Peas are good for the soil.) Maybe we'll grow beans sometime.