From vegetable gardens to flowers the long awaited gardening season in all its glory is here.
Tomatoes, sweet corn, and berries, ah so much to enjoy !!!!
Fresh cut flowers to grace the kitchen table, the colors and fragrances endless.
For those of us that want to avoid the fight (bugs, disease, watering, weeds, etc.) the farmers market is perfect. A mixture of friends, crafts and FOOD all in one place, Plus you are supporting local vendors in the warm summer sun.
I had the great pleasure of working for a wonderful gentleman on Shelburne Farms a few years ago. Every Friday we would spend the day together. His gardens were the joy of his life. He was so proud of the beauty he had worked so hard to maintain.
He was diagnosed to have Parkinson’s Disease yet he would carry on with his gardening enjoying peace and quiet until he could no longer walk. The disease finally took his life. I wrote this poem for him.
The Gardener
He arrives with the morning sun
To his garden of pride and joy,
Captivated by his surrounding,
Following dreams from when just a boy.
His day spent among the flowers
Finding reward in work done:
Plants showing great beauty in color
And growing strong in the summer sun.
Only stopping to wipe away
Sweat that has gathered on his brow,
Never to tired or discouraged,
Fulfills his caretaker’s heartfelt vow.
The warmth of the day all but gone,
For the sun has now found the west,
He gathers up his cart of old tools,
Goes home, knowing he’s given his best.