Village Squire, 1976-06, Page 17For others it's a joy
-for her it's war
BY SANDRA ORR
4
I stare enviously at the immaculate farm
gardens as we drive down the concession;
geraniums, petunias crowding the flower
beds, neat rows of vegetables, well -kept
lawns.
This year I promised myself a neat
garden but --
"You'd better get out "there with the hoe
or you won't be able to find your plants."
The vision of an immaculate garden
turns to work.
Weeds...if only the plants were as
plentiful and hardy as the weeds. Mine
grew three inches today.
I survey the garden. Rows that crook to
the right, pumpkins, squash, melons, and
cucs are all too close together and are
fighting for space (some are coming up
wild from last year).
"Better get out there with the hoe. It's
going to rain tomorrow."
Weeds. If you get them licked by July,
they don't grow as much. But if you leave
your garden until July, the pigweed is
chest high with roots that would shame a
willow. Then try and pull them out. Don't
rn) remember last year?
I should go out and do my stint with the
I),,,• "s•t‘ grandmother used her hoe until it
ro/or-hlade thin. I don't think I'll
chat precedent; I wait for the sun
get a little less hot.
nn
(.111.1 go away for a few weeks
lula�s 11Ia ails(' when vnu get hack home
soul golden IS a mass ut pigweed, lamb's
,,•i n rs. twit( h grass --an embarrassing
)e lawn is dotted with small yellow
„uul things I chop at the roots but it
.eem, an endless task. If I leave them long
,•,unigh they will go to seed and be gone
until next year.
It might rain tomorrow. I think I'll wait
.,nse weeds are easier to pull when the
..aril) is damp.
It rained most of the day. Too wet --I'll
,•t n)�
hands and clothes dirty.
lint this afternoon. I'll wait 'til
ung Not that I'm hoping something
nine up in the meantime. Like the
,.,‘ prbill leaky roof. When it's raining
gnu (an't fix it and when it's sunny you
don't have 'to.
I trudge out to the garden, finally.
Maybe it's not as bad as it looks. Maybe
some of those prolific green things are
beans.
Why are the vegetables I like (and
nobody else likes) cultivated out? And
don't give me the excuse that the row is
crooked. •
I'm not doing too well with one hand
swatting the black flies and the other
gripped around the handle (I can always
hope the handle will break
Maybe somebody will come along and
stop and we can yak over the fence. I resist
the impulse to go out and flag down cars.
"Maybe we could let the garden lie
fallow next summer? Just work it up? Then
the next year everything will be bigger and
better?"
No dice? Well, it's almost time to start
picking the vegetables then I can quit
pulling weeds without remorse. Doing both
jobs' is altogether too much work.
Anyway, if I'want my garden to look neat
I can'hire a plane and a pilot and look at it
from 1000 feet.
VILLAGE SQUIRE/JUNE 1976, 15