by Jen Lyons

It’s Saturday morning, and my husband Tony and I finish our coffee early. We gather up supplies: gloves, weed trimmers, shovels, and rakes, and head off to the garden. Today it resembles a miniature jungle. Recent rains after a long dry spell have prompted the plants (vegetables, flowers and weeds alike) into a rush of growth. The tomatoes are heavy with green fruit. Soon we will all have tomatoes coming out of our ears! The squash plant keeps creeping further and further and has wandered right out into the alley! And I swear that eggplant wasn’t there yesterday! We meet other Greenfolks in the garden and we chew the fat while weeding. Two little boys, shy at first, quickly develop into enthusiastic playmates. In the garden they have room to chase each other. They roll in the grass, dig in the dirt, and help us with our gardening. I explore the garden with two young girls. We look at the funny curly-cues that help the cucumber plant to climb. We see that a greedy groundhog has helped himself to nearly all of our cabbage and sigh. Anyone who has gardened knows that you have to take the losses with the successful harvests. We pick and eat cherry tomatoes right off of the plant — that is when they taste best! Tony and I have errands to run, but it’s hard to leave the garden. I keep finding new weeds to pull. Tony is still chatting with another neighbor. Someone new stops to comment on the garden as they are walking by and we talk to them for a bit. The children keep us playing and ignoring the time. Finally, we pull ourselves away and say good-bye. Until next time. The garden will be there beckoning; a sanctuary filled with serenity, relaxing diversions, mouthwatering vegetables and great friends. If you are interested in the Greenfolks Garden or have any questions, please call Jen Lyons at 265-4654. Riverwest Currents – Volume 1 – Issue 8 – September 2002
by Jen Lyons