SubscribeGardening magic
Most evenings, I walk over to the small garden my daughter and I are nurturing and just stare at the growing tomato plants. My daughter likes to look at them too and has taken on the job of watering them nearly every day. She doesn’t like to share that pleasure with me so I just watch as the water drenches the leaves and imagine the taste of our first tomato sandwich this summer.
We didn’t expect to develop such a deep interest in our tomatoes.
For more than a decade, we were deck gardeners. From the time my daughter was a toddler, I’d let her play in the dirt and help plant herbs and flowers in pots on the deck of our home in Maryland. We looked forward to our fresh basil, rosemary, thyme and hot peppers. At our new place here in Charlotte, there’s a community garden plot available on a first-come, first-serve basis. We both like tomatoes so I decided to sign up for a space and dedicate it to tomatoes only.
We spent a few hours some weeks ago getting rid of weeds and getting the soil ready for planting before I purchased six heirloom tomato plants. We have both been overcome with the peace and quiet joy of tending to the plants and anticipating their bounty.
My daughter and I have been touched by gardening magic.
I’ll continue to share our gardening stories through the summer. Won’t you share some of yours?
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I am a member of the Sandwich Generation, a Baby Boomer raising a teenage daughter and dealing with the needs of an aging mother. I am a veteran journalist, having worked for more than three decades as a reporter and editor. Mostly recently, I was an editor with the Metro section of The Washington Post.
I’ll be waiting for updates and tips about your tomato plants. I planted three tomatoes and two pepper plants in containers on my deck. Also, with a lot of help from my niece, I replanted four areas in my front yard with flowers. I hate going out to water them every day. But, I do so enjoy looking at and touching each plant. Also, I have seven plants indoors.
Two weeks ago, it was raining so I put four of the indoor plants on my deck. It rained the entire day and part of the night. So the next day I didn’t bother to check on the plants. When I walked onto the patio on the third day, the sun had burned the plants. So I had to drag them indoors and I’m trying to nurse them back to their previous very good health. They are so unforgiving and that makes me sad because all seven plants are from close relatives funerals. I need to keep them alive and in good “health”!
Thanks, I just came across your site and will share with my wife because she just started her first garden this summer with one of our neighbors. She is certainly into tomato plants as well. panini maker