food / gardening
Six Pots on a Porch
Pretend gardening
The other day I planted some cucumber seeds in a big plastic bucket and set it out on the front porch of one side of the apartment building. This year morning glories won’t be the only plants creeping upwards through the wrought iron pillars holding up the roof over the porch.
My one tomato plant is doing quite nicely and is around ten inches tall. I’m starting to regret getting only one. Last year I had two cherry tomato plants. This year’s plant is a Roma. I love plucking a cherry tomato, tossing it into the air, and catching it in my mouth. I love the little tomato explosion in my mouth. (And with the immediacy of harvesting there is also an explosion of chi in the mouth.) It’s tough when there is only the one ripe cherry tomato because you immediately want another tomato explosion experience. A Roma tomato, however, can be a part of a salad. Dang, I should have gotten one of each.
Sometimes when I walk about town I inadvertently mentally redesign the landscapes around buildings; both commercial and residential. I don’t do it nearly as often as I used to. I’ve gotten better. But I still occasionally slip into that noggin habit. I think it might have something to do with having once worked in exterior design for rich people. It was the best paying job I’ve ever had. I would look at a piece of land, redesign it in my noggin then redesign it with my hands to match.
Nowadays I like to look at a piece of land and simply enjoy it for what it is. Nature knows how to get comfortable. I simply witness all the beauty that exists in every landscape. This troublesome need to redesign everything is some sort of psychopathic problem, no doubt, but I’m slowly releasing it. It only happens occasionally now.
Sometimes it even happens when I am indoors. You see, when looking out my office window I see the house across the street. The old man who lived there died about four years ago and the house has been vacant ever since.
Mother Nature has taken over. She will do that. The whole property is now like an overgrown forest. Bushes and trees have exploded with unrestrained growth. I think a machete would be needed just to get through the backyard. It is a sight of great beauty just exactly the way it is.
But there have been a few times while staring out the window that a little click sounded in my noggin and I melted into redesign mode. I’ve mentally redesigned that property a dozen times over the years. Now, if I catch myself doing it I just lightly slap myself across the face. Sometimes that works. Sometimes it doesn’t.
I really want a garden, dang it! Six pots on a porch ain’t gonna cut it. That’s not a real garden. I want to immerse my hands into the planet.
The morning glories are up but they’re still tiny. The geraniums and marigolds and portulaca are already blooming. I mentioned the tomato plant. The good news is that the late-planted parsley is finally coming up. I’m really super excited about that.
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