The Payoffs Are Priceless

We live in a tiny house on a tiny corner lot, less than a mile from the center of downtown Wilmington, Delaware.  For many years, we raised children ( two boys and a girl) and cats.  The yard was filled with toys and bikes, swing sets and jungle gyms along with some annual beds, a few tomato plants and some runner beans.  Tim worked as a deputy attorney general (still does) and I worked as a teacher (still do.)  Our lives were busy and complicated and our home was crowded and all that activity just seemed to burst through the seams and clutter the yard with whatever odds and ends of our endeavors that could survive outdoors.

Slowly (and I do mean slowly) the children moved out and into some pretty extraordinary adventures (the stuff of another blog.)  Despite the fact that none of them live here, they all still use this as their permanent address.  We keep a room or two ready, because someone frequently needs a place to stay for a day or a week or a month.  However, our chaotic and challenging days have become somewhat more predictable and certainly quieter.  We quickly found that there were large patches in our lives and in our yard that demanded to be filled.  So where there were once children to be tended and nurtured, now we have plants.

We began slowly by expanding the beds that had always hugged the edges of the yard.  In the beginning of this garden expansion,  we just added a few more tomatoes and peppers and flats of annuals purchased from the space in front of the grocery stores.  Those early attempts bear little resemblance to what surrounds us now.

My husband Tim is a consummate student of life.  He grabs hold of a subject and picks it apart to explore every aspect and nuance.  When gardening became important, he immersed himself in all things horticultural and pulled me along for company.  Our tiny urban plot is now contains two thriving, ever changing cottage gardens in the front and side yards, and a 30 x 30 foot kitchen garden in back.  We grow organic heirloom vegetables, including 12 varieties of tomatoes.  The flower beds are predominately native species and now contain close to fifty varieties of plants.   Our lawns have given way to paths through the plantings.  We continue to learn sustainable practices, always seeking to provide a healthy environment that supports a surprising variety of urban wildlife.  We have a special interest in attracting and providing shelter and support for pollinators.

We live in a thriving city neighborhood.  During a weekend morning of weeding, thirty people may walk by our fence.  Many stop to comment, ask questions or share ideas.  Gardening is rewarding on so many levels, but talking about it is a special pleasure.  Let's talk.