GARDENING

Let me say up front I hate gardening. I don't like to get my hands dirty, I don't like to sweat, I don't like to pick off snails, I hurt when I bend over for long periods of time. I do like the flowers, herbs, and veggies we get from gardening. That was the royal we. The only gardening I do is to dead head roses every now and then and to try to pull out the fern overtaking the gardenia. But then there is Marty.

I told a friend once that when Marty died I am sure he will come back as an earth worm. The man loves to dig in the dirt. He loves to garden, to dig, fertilize, prune, play with the irrigation system, to start seeds. He loves everything about growing plants and he is so good at it.

We don't have lots of sun in our yard. Lots of trees in surrounding yards create too much shade. But we do have little pools of sunlight and Marty has planted those areas within an inch of their lives. We have tomatoes, radishes, peppers, chard, carrots, basil, cilantro, chives, artichokes, thyme, sage, and on and on. And we have the greenhouse. Oh how he loves that greenhouse. He starts plants from seed in the winter and he has orchids. Lots and lots of orchids. We have cattleyas, dendrobiums, cymbidums, phalaenopsis, and some I don't know what species they are. Our house is full of blooming orchids.

All are beautiful, and some also have a wonderful aroma. Orchids have many different aromas: we have some that smell like chocolate, pepper, or are sweet smelling. They also produce a nectar like substance that taste good. It will drip off the plants. They are wonderful plants that are forgiving. They will live a long time while you learn how to grow them.

Marty spent most of today watering, pruning, fertilizing, re-potting, and just taking care of his orchids. Every plant came out of the greenhouse and was checked and taken care of. He was a happy happy camper. I was very helpful and served him beer. This was his idea of a perfect Sunday afternoon. I had my perfect afternoon in the recliner reading a mystery.