In my part of the country,
it seems to have done nothing but rain
for the past few months.
Not only does that put my solar
landscaping lights out of service,
but it also postpones planning
our annual garden.
Luckily, a few dry days
over the past two weekends
gave us a small window of opportunity
to get our spot tilled and planted
in anticipation for a great
summer bounty of fresh vegetables.
And although my husband and I have
been planting gardens for almost
thirty years,
he stills astounds and amazes me
with his insistence for perfection.
This year he actually had to run
a line from
the edge of the garage to the garden,
just so the rows would be
parallel to the structure.
Sure.
I mean, I don't want my guests saying
that my rows of green beans don't line up
with the angle of the garage.
And heaven forbid
they might realize that one
tomato plant is two inches further
from the row of peppers than the others.
Needless to say, it takes
for a long day in the hot sun.
We usually get along great,
but gardening time puts a strain
on our opposite personalities.
These are typical quotes from
his side of the garden dialog:
"Move that stake 1/8 inch South," he says,
positioning his line of sight down a
well-placed string.
"No! South! Not 1/4 inch- I said an eighth!"
"Does that look straight to you?"
"I think we're a centimeter off on
this row of cucumbers."
"Wish I had my level. Go get it."
"Can't you see that those seeds are
going in crooked?"
****
Okay.Now-
Here's my side:
"Oooh, look at that bird, isn't it cute?"
" Can we stop now?"
"Just stick the seeds in and be done!"
"Aren't you hungry yet?"
"Where's 3/8ths on this tape measure?"
" Look, I found a four leaf clover!"
So, you see, our brains are on
different levels.
He loves the mapping, planning,
mathematically perfect garden.
I love the bushy greenness of
new plants and earthy vegetables
and a kaleidoscopic whirlwind
of blooms and plants and weeds and straw.
In the long run, I guess
that all is good.
Our gardens not only produce well,
but they look like someone with an
aggravating-mathematical-bossy-mind
plotted them out.
But- I can't help but love him...
and be glad it's finally time for lunch!
