The Rural Voice, 2006-05, Page 8paid 6044v0
'TOYS FOR THE
BIG BOYS & GIRLS'
1 Owner - 99,000 Kms.
2002 CHEV SILVERADO LS
Ext.. Cab Z71 4x4
• Pewter • 4 door • 5.3 L Vortec V8
• new tires, brakes & rotors
$20,995 certified
2002 GMC SLT EXT CAB Z71
• Tow package • dark green
• 5.3 L Vortec V8 • leather
• step up bars • mint
$19,995 certified
2003 GMC YUKON XL DENALI
• Garnet recd metallic • leather
• 7 passenger • TV/DVD
• 6.0 L Vortec
$29,995 certified
1966 T -BIRD 2 DOOR COUPE
• Texas car • mint
• rare stock 428 V8 • automatic
• spotless interior & exterior
Financing available
- No payments for 6 months
HOURS:
Mon. 9-5; Tues., Wed., Thurs. 9-6;
Fri. 9-5; Sat. 9-3
"Pau! Evans' salutes the
Canadian Farmer"
"`aux .suck Specialiat "
HWY. #6 CHATSWORTH
Office/Fax: 519-794-2765
4 THE RURAL VOICE
Carol Riemer
Cultivating a fo
Carol Riemer
is a freelance
writer who
lives with her
husband and
two
children near
Grand
Valley,
Ontario.
Belie( r it or not, gardening has a
lot in common with everyday life. -
There are times when all seems
right with the world. The sun shines
brightly in a cloudless, blue sky.
Other days, dark gray clouds gather
overhead and you think that it will
never stop raining. There is no
denying that the variations in weather
caused by climate change have given
a whole new meaning to the
expression, "weather permitting".
Yet, despite the disappointments,
gardeners are a resilient lot. From the
first moment I pulled on a pair of
rubber boots, tucked new garden
gloves in my back pocket, and
accompanied my husband out to the
yard to dig upthat small patch of
ground, I knew I was hooked.
Watching the rototiller chew its way
through the sod, I was entranced by
the idea of being somewhat
independent, if not totally self-
sufficient, in growing our own food.
It seemed to me that we had
embarked upon an adventure and
there was no turning back.
This voyage of discovery,
however, took longer than I•expected.
I hadn't planted one seed in the
ground, when it started to rain, a
complication that turned our half -
plowed garden plot into a muddy
quagmire. Retreating to the house,
my husband and I kicked off our
boots at the door, and went in search
of dry clothing. Over coffee, we
attempted to prop up our broken
dreams of the perfect garden, while
thumbing through a growing ,
collection of gardening magazines.
Some of our friends liked to garden
too, but they could never understand
our interest in vegetables and fruit.
Their penchant, in those days, was for
growing flowers.
ndness for flowers
But, we enjoyed cooking, and
what better way was there to supply
our kitchen with baskets of fresh
organic produce, than to grow it
ourselves? So, despite the insistent
misgivings of our friends, my
husband and I persevered with our
little garden. Slowly and
methodically, we worked to establish
a bed of productive, friable soil that
would sustain a variety of home-
grown produce.
Over the years, the two of us have
established several gardens, the last
of which we expanded to
accommodate a greater selection of
tomato plants, lettuce, pickling
cucumbers, baby carrots, climbing
beans, pepper squash and even a
small, rambling plot of pumpkins.
Our children used to help more
often with the gardening chores, but
as time went by, school work
increasingly demanded greater
amounts of their time, and we
decided to cut back on what we grew.
Instead, we consoled ourselves by
planting more trees around the
property, and now we raise fresh
herbs like chives, parsley, oregano,
rosemary and thyme in wooden barrel
planters by the deck.
Lately, I've found myself looking
at flowers and thinking that maybe
our friends had a point after all. A
little food for the soul, these colourful
blooms provide a cheerful and often
fragrant addition to the garden. They
remind me of times long gone, but
not forgotten: the scent of lilacs
wafting across my parents' yard,
clumps of bright yellow daffodils
springing up along the white picket
fence behind our first house; the
forget-me-nots I planted with my
father the year he died; the daisies at
my best friend's wedding; and the
lily -of -the -valley I discovered in the
shade of the cedars that first summer
in our old school house.
Gardening may have its ups and
downs. It may change with the years.
But, just as the weather has its
unpredictable side, the attraction
endures. This spring, much to our
friends' surprise, I am cultivating
something new: a fondness for old-
fashioned flowers.0
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