My Patch of Green

There is a spot of earth supremely blest,
A dearer, sweeter spot than all the rest,
Where man, creation's tyrant, casts aside
His sword and sceptre, pageantry and pride.
From "Home" by James Montgomery

Seeing as I spend most of my time at work sitting behind a desk crunching data and writing emails and PowerPoint decks, I find myself strongly drawn towards means of relaxation that involve doing something physical. Thus, to a desk-worker like me, spending my free time on furniture building or flooring or gardening is hard work, but it's highly pleasurable as satisfying. (It may well be that many who farm or build for a living have similar senses of accomplishment, or perhaps more likely, due to the human desire for that which we do not have, those who work actively long to sit still and work with mind rather than hands.)

Whatever the general tendencies involved, I found myself this year enthusiastic to start a garden.

Spring comes early in Texas, and is soon chased away by summer, so I broke ground in February, and now in early April nearly everything is in the ground. We've got a variety of heirloom tomatoes, basil (Genovese and purple), oregano, bell peppers, hot peppers, cucumbers, onions, carrots and lettuce. Those latter two are expected to die off by June due to Texas heat, and which point some eggplants and additional varieties of bell peppers are waiting in the wings to take their place.

Most of the tomatoes aren't large enough yet to set healthy buds, but this cherry tomato has some coming.


A few of the bell peppers seem to be starting on their way towards bearing fruit as well.

Generally I find myself going out to look at the progress of the plants every morning before leaving for work (coffee cup in hand) and every evening after getting home (wine glass or beer bottle in hand). It's relaxing, and with the alternating sun and rain of spring, it often seems that they grow noticeably between inspections.

And all the while visions of big, juicy heirloom tomatoes and crunchy bell peppers and cucumbers loom. Mmmmmmmmm.