Garden Journal - I'll Show You Mine

I couldn't help it.Thing2 had used h is superhuman social butterfly skills to extend an afterschool play date from 3 hours to 5. That's how I found myself at 7PM standing in the backyard of his best friend's parents trying to remind him and myself that Thing1 and the Big Guy still needed to be fed.  There was no way I was not going to notice it.The setting sun cast a golden glow over the plot, neatly bordered with small gage fence.  Our hosts had carefully laid pavers around the bottom of the fence to keep out even the squirmiest chipmunk. From my vantage point, however, all I could see of the actual garden was the dug potato row with its early leaves poking out of the soil."Do you mind I take a look?" I asked the other parents, nodding my head toward the gated plot."Sure," answered the other mom, and the dad led us all to the fortified collection of beds.  I felt my heart beat faster as I studied the layout, neatly framed by a layer of newly-installed gravel… Install.  Here was the spinach, and there were the tomatoes.I always get a little excited when  I see a new idea that I could break into my own plot. It's usually fantasy (the only new idea I can incorporate into my own garden is to make it smaller and more manageable), but the fantasy is part of the fun and excitement of looking.Before you write me off as some garden-peeping Mom, however, understand that I'm not just in it for the thrill of looking at something new.  Whether arranged in rows or beds, each new garden is a perfect patchwork marriage of practical and pretty.  They are an excuse to create and connect with others who love to create something valuable, if fleeting, from their good earth.So if you see me parked outside your yard I can only claim curious inspriation as my excuse. And hey, in the spirit of encouraging creativity - and food - to grow, if you show me yours, I'll show you mine.