Growing Pains

It's the beginning of May, and because I live in the Garden State, it's time to get the garden going. I was raised in a house where gardening wasn't optional. There was no excuse not to have a garden. If we lived in an apartment (you have windows!), or a house (postage stamp yard is big enough!), we were growing something. My grandfather was the master gardener in my family. He used to let me tag along with him while he worked his masterpiece. I can remember him turning over the dirt and excitedly telling me his plans for the coming years' planting blue-prints, or picking me up so I could reach the tomatoes on his 8' tall plants. Even as a little girl I knew that earthworms were your friend, and I loved finding them and letting them wriggle through my fingers back into the overturned soil. To this day, I love the smell of rich soil. Gardening brings me closer to those memories and in its own way heals me like nothing else can. There's something so satisfying about literally seeing the fruits of your labors. How many aspects of my job as a mother are so frustrating because even though I know that I'm working hard for something so important, there's no real "finished" product. When raising children, there are small steps and you build towards a picture that is so big, there's really no day where you just sit back and say, "I'm done and it's good." At least, if there is that day, I'm nowhere near it. Gardening is great for the nurturer in me because there's a shorter end to my means. I work, I care for, I protect, I stay vigilant, and I will see results almost right away. Of course there's waiting so patience is required, but as a student in the school of patience, I know that it's worth it. The waiting is filled with an excited anticipation. There are disappointments too. I've had pests devour my hard work. I've fought wood chucks like Caddy Shack and found myself threatening winged insects with very strong words. Somehow, it's always worth it. For some reason, even after the hardest season, just one zucchini pie or if I'm lucky, a slew of raspberry jelly makes it worth it and I find myself digging the next Spring. Today was the day that I decided the digging should begin. When I lived in Bergen County I would start prepping in April. The weather is decidedly colder here so I start prep-work in the beginning of May and plant around Memorial Day Weekend. It was a rainy day and even though I had no motivation, I knew I wouldn't regret starting. I have a pretty large garden so I set small goals that I know I can reach. The biggest obstacle for me isn't the boulders in my rocky soil, or the limited time I have to dedicate to it, it's the space between my own two ears. Sometimes I just have to get to work, keep my head down and once in awhile, pick my head up to see how far I've gotten and then get right back to work. Doesn't that apply to so many things in life? Set a goal, put your nose to the grindstone, don't get overwhelmed at the size of the job and keep on working. Before you know it, the job is done and you have the satisfaction of knowing that you accomplished something.


Thanks to a milder than average Spring, my garden looks more like a jungle. I think the yellow flowers are part of a horse-radish plant.

One of two large piles of weeds and sunflower stalks cleared out by hand.

My goal today was to dig out 1/3 of my work area. I spotted a post, and got to it. Not bad for an hour's work.

Black earth...see the raspberry bushes already green?!

Rhubarb! I've downloaded over 300 rhubarb recipes...I've made about a dozen....

Future raspberry jelly!

Get dirty!

Needed waterproof gloves today...

Never too old to play in the dirt...

Who needs the gym?