American Idyll

This past weekend, Riley and I planted flowers and a small vegetable garden in the front of our house. She, Lucy and I had gone to the flower store Saturday morning and bought the plants, top soil (enriched with plant food) and all of the tools that we would need to create a lovely landscape that we could see and enjoy from our front window. Riley chose some pretty purple flowers that look kind of like exotic petunias and I picked orange and yellow marigolds in order to keep the bunnies at bay and to please my Dad; they are his favorite flowers.

By the time we got home from the flower store, Lucy was ready for her nap and Riley and I began to create our garden. We were both stylishly prepared for the activity. I was in my favorite Milwaukee T-shirt, denim capris, canvas and chamois gardening gloves, knee pads and sporty flip-flops. Riley was wearing a periwinkle blue, sleeveless, three-quarter length sundress and a cute little sun hat.

We started with the smallest bed, which is located to the left of the front porch. This four foot by four foot bed contained a sad little shrub that was losing its grip on the earth and tipping at a dangerous angle over the driveway. With Shawn's help, we were able to remove it without much trouble. Once it was removed, Riley and I tilled the soil, removed the rocks, and mixed in some top soil. Well, I did most of that; she spent much of the time using the trowel to move dirt from the flower bed to the driveway and provided running commentary on the wildlife that we uncovered, which was very entertaining. Soon, we were ready to plant our vegetable garden.

We started by planting three big boy tomato plants along the brick wall of the porch. My neighbor, Ethel, gave me the plants and they were the catalyst for starting the garden that day. Anyway, I would dig the hole and Riley, Master of the Hose, would fill the hole with water. Then I would count out the pumpkin or watermelon seeds into her tiny hand and she would plant them in the row. Riley is very excited to watch them grow. We then surrounded our small garden with marigolds, alternating back and forth between orange and yellow plants along the red brick trim.

At the base of the stairs of the front porch is a small, two foot wide by six foot long sloping sidewalk that travels down to the driveway. On the opposite side of the sidewalk from the vegetable garden is a 4 foot by six foot flower bed. It already contains a small, ground-clinging shrub and a rose bush Shawn planted last summer. Riley and I weeded the flowerbed and added the soil. As we did this, I looked over at the street while taking a breather. I noticed a stalled car at the end of our treelawn.

I called over to the stranded motorists (two women, four children) and asked them if they needed help. They didn't seem to know what was wrong with their car and asked me if there were an auto parts store or a gas station nearby. I tried to direct them but both options seemed a bit too far for hoofing it. So, I offered to get Shawn to see if he could help. He went over and talked to them while Riley and I resumed our work in the flowerbed. Before I knew it, the kids bolted out of the car as Shawn offered them drinks and candy. The littlest girl, Maria, came straight over to me and Riley and started helping us with the garden. She was Riley's age (three) and shared her fascination and deftness with the hose.

Not much later, a man arrived and started giving the lady behind the wheel a hard time about not getting gas, like he had instructed her to. I assumed that he was her husband. The problem was solved and the car was started. They gathered their children in the car, all yelling thank-you's and good-bye's. We finished planting the exotic, purple petunias and Riley, who was starting to turn pink, went inside.

I returned to finish the larger flowerbed that is located under our front bay window. It is approximately six feet deep and fifteen feet wide. There were some hearty shrubs planted there and I intended to fill in the blank spaces with marigolds. But first, I needed to remove the stray plants that sprouted from the seeds the birds and squirrels dumped from the two bird feeders that hang from a two-sided shepherd's hook in the center of the flowerbed. By this time, the sun was beating down and I could feel it burning through my t-shirt and jeans. But it felt really good after such a winter that we had this year.

I removed as much of the extraneous plantlife as I could and began to fill in the blanks with two rows of marigolds in alternating colors along the red brick border of the flower bed. First I'd dig a hole, then fill it in with water, then select a marigold and put it in the hole. I'd fill in the hole with dirt and build up the soil so that the flower would stand up straight. I'd offer my little marigold of the moment words of encouragement, like, "drink up, little buddy," or "you'll get lots of sunshine here."

I surprised myself with the amount of fun I was having. I even began to whistle and sing the song Singing in the Rain as I saturated each flowerbed methodically with the hose. It used to be that I loathed and dreaded working in the garden. But ever since I spent the past few years apprenticing at my mother's side putting in flowerbeds, I've gained the know-how. Now that Riley, who has also done a small apprenticeship of her own with my Mom, is old enough and passionate about flowers and gardening, I've caught the bug. Either that, or I've been smashed into submission by the two strongest forces in my life: my mom and my daughter. But, really, I just want to be with them. I really don't care what we do, as long as they are happy. So, gardening it is, among other things.

By the time I planted all I could plant, cleaned up all I could gather, and mowed the front lawn, I could barely move. Shawn was gesturing to me from the front window to come inside. I began to drag my tools into the garage and paused at the back faucett for a drink of water. I noticed that he had sweetly kicked on the air conditioner in order to entice me back into the house. Smiling to myself, I filled my glass up and started to chug. As I was finishing, Shawn came around the corner and I nearly jumped out of my skin. He told me that I'd better quit and everything looked great. Thankfully, he agreed to finish putting away the lawn refuse bags and the mower, while I went inside to collapse.

It took about four hours to complete the front gardens, and, I must say, they look beautiful. I can't wait to watch as the marigolds spread out and the seeds sprout pumpkins and watermelons. I'm not as thrilled about the tomatoes, but maybe I'll find a good recipe for marinara and put them to good use. Riley asks me everyday if our pumpkins are grown yet. I look forward to watching the progress of our garden with her, and eventually Lucy too. I'm already planning next year to start some pepper plants inside. Farming and gardening are a tradition that I have a new-found respect for. I hope to pass on to my girls the satisfaction of growing their own food, the joy of playing in the dirt, and the creative thrill of painting a picture with flowers on the largest canvas I've ever seen.