Gardening: CFS-Style

Every year as Spring approaches, I get a sudden inexplicable desire to garden. Not just any kind of gardening -- I want a summer vegetable garden, just like I remember from my childhood. I loved the baby carrots, peas, and beans. I loved fresh corn on the cob grown and harvested from my own backyard. I loved how the zucchini took over more than its assigned mound of dirt. The watermelon was the perfect epitome of summer. And what could be better than tiny cherry tomatoes, still warm from the sun, a juicy burst of flavor in my mouth? Summer has always been my favorite time of the year, and these are the flavors of summer.

I can't say that I was an accomplished gardener before CFS. In fact, we only had a successful garden twice. Once, about seven years ago, my family and I tackled the side yard that was overgrown with weeds, some taller than the kids. My husband turned over the dirt, and I added the soil conditioners. Each child chose their own plant to grow and tend. It was a phenomenal success! We had fresh, homemade zucchini bread for months. We repeated the experiment the following year. It became quite the source of pride for us. In fact, our wonderful little garden was still going strong the day we moved to our new home.

Then, there were the normal adjustments in a new house that took my attention away from gardening. Then, the front yard needed attention and landscaping. One year, we were able to get the weeds cleared away in the side yard, but we discovered it was too hot and too late in the season to do much else. And finally, CFS hit and hit hard.

And yet, the desire to garden never went away! It was on my list of things I used to love and couldn't do any more. I mourned it. Until this year, when I decided that I was going to have my garden, dang it! I just had to get a little creative.

So, here's my garden! A ceramic container with Patio cherry tomatoes (bred specifically to grow in a pot), basil, and sage. I have two water globes so I don't have to water every day. No hoeing, no weeding, no energy to expend. My CFS garden! I am so proud of myself! I drag my kids out to "look at my garden" every couple of days. I show them the little blossoms on my tomato plant. I point out the new growth on the herbs. The teenagers roll their eyes; the little ones help me refill the water globes. And I count down the days until I have those little cherry tomatoes, still warm from the sun, to pop into my mouth.