Funny How a Little Garden Can Make You Happy

It’s funny how things happen. When I was married we had a little garden out back that gave us some tomatoes, tons of spearmint, pole beans, zucchini and a few other things. It wasn’t a great garden by any means, four raised beds nestled close to the back of the house just off the deck. We had a walk-out basement, so the deck was up a story outside the kitchen, but it was perfect since we could run a string from the edge of a couple of raised beds to the deck for our beans to climb. Two oak barrels gave us some carrots.

A couple of years ago, after I got back home from rehab after losing a leg, my sister rekindled the little gardening spark that I had pretty much buried over the years. We talked a few times and she sent me a large planting table . . . a VegTrug . . . that enabled me to work at a relaxing height on my deck.

One thing led to another and I now have two more smaller raised planter (also from Gardener’s Supply . . .  Poppy Planters, they’re called) and several other regular containers . . . a few large pots, some smaller round ones, a bunch of oval shapes and a line of soft-sided containers with handles.

I find gardening very relaxing and satisfying.

 I’m by no means anything more than a beginner, but starting vegetables from seed then transplanting them . . . watching them grow . . . the tomatoes, peppers, squash, herbs, beans, and other goodies . . . it’s invigorating and relaxing at the same time.

Since everything I plant is in a container of some sort on my deck, critters don’t seem to be much of an issue, and weeds are rare.

My little garden makes me happy.

I should note that the garden wouldn't have happened this year without help from Becky Pellowe and Erin (my Younger Child), both of whom spent a lot of time making sure a bunch of things got planted when I visited the hospital for a couple of weeks. Thanks to you both.

This is my second summer as a gardener here. I’m already looking at varieties for next year (I’ll be a lot more limited, or self-limiting, with my selections. Some things didn’t get planted outside this year. But that’s the fun of it, too . . . figuring out what works and what might work better next year. Can’t wait.