June 02

I'm notoriously bad at growing things. When I see flowers like the ones my neighbor Nicolene grows in her front garden, I'm left green -- pun intended -- with envy.

A couple of summers ago, the boyfriend and I grew tomatoes in pots on our front porch. Boyfriend even put some mint and spices in the soil around the base of the plants. Our reasoning in growing tomatoes was sound enough -- they thrive under "benign neglect," which is pretty much the best a plant will get under my watch. The tomatoes grew tall on their stakes, because I didn't know that you're supposed to prune from the top, and while we harvested perhaps two dozen small tomatoes from the plants, it took two or three of these miniature tomatoes to equal one supermarket specimen.

Nonetheless, it was nice to walk out the door to a little forest of green that summer, if only because it was green and living and vibrant. I may have to try my hand at gardening again soon. Practice makes perfect?

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