Spring is in the Air

There is a big joke in my house at this time of year. Mom wants to plant a garden. I think all winter long about what I want to put in my garden. I cook a lot, so gardening seems to me to go hand in hand. I dream about plump tomatoes, fresh peppers, small zucchini and beautiful green beans all winter long. I dream of where my beautiful garden will reside in my yard.

I have had my garden in different locations in my yard. In the front was the best place to have the garden but my husband did not like the "look" of my garden in the front. I have had it in the back yard among the flower beds, in a raised bed running along a terrace and last year on a terrace above my pool. No spot has been really great except for the area in the front.

The reason my husband and family joke about my garden is that I like the "idea" of gardening. I love the planning and the planting. That's it. I hate to weed. I even forget to water and harvest.

Right on queue, a few weeks ago, I mentioned where my garden was going this year and that I needed it tilled. My family laughed and said, no way. They had decided that a flower garden was going above the pool because my garden was an "eye soar". I asked my father-in-law if he would till a space for me in my yard. He said, he would plant what I want in his garden. His garden is always beautiful and not full of weeds.

Knowing when I have lost a battle, I decided that I would start a container garden. I will plant tomatoes and peppers in attractive containers and put them in the pool area. Since I spend most of my summer working around the pool (working with my laptop and phone), I will be able to monitor and water my plants and have some sort of harvest. The rest, like zucchini and beans, my father-in-law will plant in his garden and will keep me fed with fresh veggies all season long.

It's a compromise but I think it will work out this year. The spring is always a time of renewed hope.