Today, Will and I are celebrating our 35th wedding anniversary.
We were married in my parents' living room on October 20, 1978. My sociology professor
conducted the ceremony, and a shaggy-haired musician played the guitar and sang "Annie's Song."
I borrowed a wedding gown, and Will rented a gray tuxedo.
Will is the gardener in the family. I have a black thumb. Opposites attract, right?
It took him thirty-five years to get me in the garden. This summer, he noticed that our Jeep had turned into a mobile potting shed, crammed with tools, fertilizer, gloves, Round-Up bottles,
It took him thirty-five years to get me in the garden. This summer, he noticed that our Jeep had turned into a mobile potting shed, crammed with tools, fertilizer, gloves, Round-Up bottles,
and various types of deer-repellent.
And dirt.
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Will likes those things, no matter where they're stored. However, the Jeep had shrunk. It held only two passengers and minimal groceries, requiring some creative shuffling when the family went to see Gravity.
Earlier this summer, I found plans for a whimsical shed.
Just what two gardeners need.
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Of course, I imagined a cute shed, filled with clay pots, glove boxes, and whatnots.
Will envisioned a place where twisted bags of soil were lined up along the wall. A place filled with power tools and hose pipes.
After 35 years, we have adjusted to our different styles. Girly vs the rough 'n tumble Big Guy.
Speaking of tumbles...
One evening, Will went up to look at his garden and fell down the hill.
It wasn't a big hill, but the ground gets harder every year.
A tricksy incline wasn't the only problem.
Chiggers and ticks lurked in the small patch of grass that lay between the driveway and garden.
Not a biggie.
Unless the tick gives you an icky case of Lyme Disease.
Or a night-time tumble down the hill results in a herniated disc.
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Will and I kept gardening through rain, infirmities, bugs, bruises, and rabbit-attacks. We weren't giving up. Our harvest has been puny, but when we drive up and see a majestic deer on the hill, we don't chase it off, we take pictures.
"Look deep into nature and you will understand everything better."
--Albert Einstein.
We decided to commemorate our anniversary (and my milestone birthday) with
garden steps and a potting shed.
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The Steps:
Bluestone steps with a broad landing.
Lighting.
Construction on the shed starts tomorrow, weather permitting.
(Prompting me to check the 7-day forecast every hour.)
Gardening isn't for sissies (me) or weaklings (me again),
but it gives you back ten-fold, even if the deer eat your tomatoes and you must buy Romas at Publix.
Digging in the earth is life-affirming.
"God Almighty first planted a garden. And indeed, it is the purest of human pleasures."
--Francis Bacon, "Of Gardens."
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