Planting Hope

With the unseasonably warm weather over the past week Spring has sprung. The trees are in full leaf. Most of them, anyway. Some are a bit behind the others.

Our plethora of fruit trees are in flower. Even the fig tree has, well, baby figs. Shades of things to come. And the grape arbor is pushing forth it’s leaves. I can almost taste the stuffed grape leaves in summer.

Yesterday I mowed the entire property. It helps keep the morning dew from my socks as we run Fergus in the back field every morning before breakfast. The flowers on the plum, cherry, and apricot trees were gorgeous as I drove past singing along to my music in full voice, as Pilgrims wandered past, conducting the big orchestrations with my invisible baton. And rapping along with Flo Rida. Open up the champagne POP! It’s my house, come on, turn it up!

How Does Your Garden Grow…

My vegetable garden is ready to plant. It’s been properly turned over – on the direction of Maricarmen – and furrowed. I even have a new proper sized Galician hoe so I can hurt my back every Spring like a local. No wonder there are so many fisioterapias in Melide. We all have one on speed dial. My weekly massage is mandatory.

A few weeks ago I started sewing vegetable seeds and they are doing well. Starts I can’t buy at the local Agro store. Sweet corn. Here, corn is for animal feed. Not for grilling in the husk over a wood fired, then shucking and slathering with butter and eating this glorious, dripping mess on the patio with friends on a warm August day. To every Galician we are the strangest of Americans. But, yesterday I went into Palas de Rei to buy the rest. The man who helped me laughed at my enthusiasm. Squealing over beets and beans. Peppers and squash. Heart cabbages. In my experience, it’s hard to get a chuckle out of stoic rural Galician men. So, I took it as a victory. The other customers were not as amused by my happy vegetable dance.

Rocks In The Garden

We are preparing the ground for the lavender. I’ll be putting rocks in the furrows to help reflect heat back on to the plants. To keep them warm. So, at Jeff’s suggestion I stopped at our friend, Toño’s, hardware store. He sells a lot of building materials, and I need a gigantic bag of rocks. Actually, I will need many of these. I want white-ish beige small rocks. Not pea gravel, but not crushed gravel. This will go between each row and facilitate drainage. It will also be the warm colored gravel I will use under the food truck tables and for all the paths I must have between cabins, etc. Once we are approved, of course. Think Parisian parks. I was pretty proud of myself for negotiating the price. I have done my homework. This first load will be two big bags delivered by truck with a crane. But I assured him there is much more where that came from if he gives me a volume discount that beats Obramat (Home Depot). Toño was happy to obligue and we shook on it. His wife came out to shake my hand. He even gave me a note tablet as a GWP – gift with purchase. You know how I love a GWP. 😉

Getting Started

I wanted to get those starts in the ground today but woke up to pouring rain. We will see what the afternoon holds. I think gardens are a physical expression of hope. No one plants trees whose fruit they don’t expect to enjoy. Or a vegetable patch they won’t be around to harvest. Plants are the ultimate reflection of optimism. Green thumb or no. And with the leafing of the chestnuts and the flowering of the fruit trees we are surrounded by the promise of brighter things to come. Even on a rainy gloomy Spring morning.