Garden Hobbyist Finds Joy in Unusual Places

Those of you who are familiar with my writing probably already know that I'm a bit of a gardening nut. Not because it's a great way to save money or because fresh fruits and veggies contain lots of vitamins and minerals -- and not even because I love the flavor of that first crispy cuke or those sweet tender peas. I'm a gardening nut because I love to watch things grow. Really. You can ask anyone. I've been known to spend hours simply sitting in my garden chair and watching the garden grow.

I guess you could call watching my garden grow my summer hobby. Don't get me wrong. I do all the work myself, once the soil is tilled in the spring. I do the planning, planting, weeding and watering. I also do the harvesting and cooking, but I do let my family share in the eating. But, those aren't the hobby part.

Actually watching the garden grow isn't as easy as you might think. It requires an entire winter's worth of dreaming before the preparations can begin. Once the snow melts --which seems to happen about half past April in these parts -- and the soil is tilled, the real work begins. Its then that I must narrow down the long list of things I want to plant, choose the right variety and layout the garden plan. I'd do it earlier, but being the visual person I am, I have to see the fresh soil before I can envision the plants.

Once it's planted the hobby begins. It goes a bit like this.

Upon arising in the morning, I grab a cup of coffee and amble outside to see how the garden in growing. I then have a seat in my garden chair while I drink my coffee and watch it grow for a while. Around noonish, I amble outside to check how things are growing, but by then it typically a bit hotter than I prefer, so I don't hang around too long.

It's after dinner that the real hobbying begins. Of course, there are always garden chores to tend to first, like watering, fertilizing and weeding. Just before dusk, I sit down in my chair and watch the garden grow until the sun falls silently beyond the horizon and the stars appear in the blue-black sky.


When I come inside in my weed-stained clothes, tracking dirt behind me, my husband greets me with the old familiar phrase, "Been watching the garden grow?" Of course, he thinks it's a joke. I just smile, because I know I have the greatest summer hobby around.