Anita's

Anita's
My Favorite Jacksonville Garden Shop

Tuesday, January 25, 2011

Opening and closing doors...

I know it has been a while since my last entry, and for good reason… or maybe not so good. Life has been full of change for me since Thanksgiving, including leaving my beloved garden. The events leading up to my leaving are still a little raw and hard to talk about ... I’m sure there are many future posts awaiting me. But in the mean time I am making due, and that includes the beginning of a new garden.

I have had opportunities to visit the “driveway” and “side” gardens, and even reap the rewards of my hard work. The broccoli has been amazing this year, and today I was able to secure my first two heads of beautiful cauliflower. The miniature pac-choi I planted from seed is making me proud also, easily a week or so away from harvest and a good stir fry.

My visit today was not without it’s moment of emotion. When I arrived there were no birds, but within minutes they came in like a rush. The woodpeckers: two downeys and a redbellied, the blue jays, the cardinals, the titmouse and my favorite song bird the Carolina wren. They even brought friends, every finch from far and near. I miss those birds. I wish I could have packed them up and moved them with me.

The new garden will be small, hardly enough room for everything I would like to grow. So for now I have to be picky. The plum lemon tomatoes were so amazing last year that I’m trying them again. And artichokes. I’m so late planting them, but I’m hoping that if I put them in the earthboxes that they will flourish. And lastly, potatoes, If you’ve never eaten a fresh potato right out of the ground then you’re missing out!

6 comments:

  1. Your cauliflower is GORGEOUS. I have got to try it next winter.

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  2. I love you and your small, new garden. : )

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  3. small is beautiful. and miraculous. think of your new beginning like those seeds that became the cauliflower and pac choi.
    come visit us...jake and pam on pine....
    hope this poem assists you on your journey....

    The Journey
    By Mary Oliver
    One day you finally knew
    what you had to do, and began,
    though the voices around you
    kept shouting
    their bad advice--
    though the whole house
    began to tremble
    and you felt the old tug
    at your ankles.
    "Mend my life!"
    each voice cried.
    But you didn't stop.
    You knew what you had to do,
    though the wind pried
    with its stiff fingers
    at the very foundations,
    though their melancholy
    was terrible.
    It was already late
    enough, and a wild night,
    and the road full of fallen
    branches and stones.
    But little by little,
    as you left their voices behind,
    the stars began to burn
    through the sheets of clouds,
    and there was a new voice
    which you slowly
    recognized as your own,
    that kept you company
    as you strode deeper and deeper
    into the world,
    determined to do
    the only thing you could do--
    determined to save
    the only life you could save.

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  4. Good luck on your new garden. Maybe with it being small, the weeds won't get ahead of you???
    ~~Lori

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  5. I hope your new garden works out well for you. And your cauliflower looks just stunning. It is such a hard one to grow I've heard (I'm not a fan of the taste, so have never tried myself).

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  6. Your cauliflower is beautiful!! I'm so jealous!! You can grow a lot in a small space if you have good sun most of the day.

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