Spring has sprung and launched headlong in to what appears to be, at this point, a pretty soggy and humid summer. This may seem irrelevant in the face of day to day business, but when you, like me, are at least two months behind in planting your garden, it is a God-send. You see, this is Texas, where spring usually quails in fear or runs in full out retreat when faced with the onslaught of 100 degree summer days, where tender seedlings wilt at the first hint of that blazing ball in the sky, and, where, for a Brit-abroad, summer gardening means watching lettuce bolt and tomatoes fail to set flower! All in all, a hard place to garden. Until this year… so far at least!
The difference this year is that, along with another refugee from rain, I have joined a community garden. We don’t have a clever name or even a sign announcing our green-fingered presence, but this little patch of composted wonderful is just bursting with life and produce. Sarah and are the only girls in this little group and our kids are the only kids with a row of their own… not that they do much actual “work”, they are content to leave that to the grown-ups in favor of visiting Avery the pig or playing on the tree swing. In this little chicken-wire-enclosed haven we have found a way to connect with our kitchen-gardening parents and, hopefully, a way to connect our kids with the outlandish concept of where food comes from.
We haven’t produced much but the odd tomato yet, but I thought I’d share a couple of pics which hold the promise of future bounty. (Disclaimer.. most of the actual food you see growing isn’t ours but the result of others’ diligent work.)
Alexandra Sarah 