by The Idea Girl

Created on: May 28, 2008   Last Updated: June 10, 2008

My amazing garden memory was when I was in grade school. Our project was to plant a seed in a Styrofoam cup and take it home with us and watch it grow. I was so excited when the sprout popped it's head out of the soil for the first time. It amazed me that this tiny bean seed could produce this lovely leafy green sprout. It grew about an inch high and then the fascination wore off. It was taking too long for me. I stopped caring about it; over watered it and it died.

I decided to try again but on a much bigger scale. My parents were living in a community of Italian people. They were always working on their gardens. I got the desire to grow my own garden, from watching them. I went to the Public Library to study how to grow a simple vegetable garden. I called one of my girl friends and asked for advice. She suggested sheep's manure and rich soil to be added to my garden.

I carefully planted my garden into six rows. I had planted seeds of corn, carrots, cucumbers, green beans and watermelon. The tomatoes were actually little mini-plants that we had gotten from the local greenhouse. Everything was planted in neat little rows. The seeds were spaced a foot apart.

I took care of my lovely garden. Watered it at night and pulled out the weeds in the early morning. It was fun to watch the birds hunting for worms. I loved the smell of the earth and plants. It was so fresh and I felt like a creator. It was the neatest thing!

Finally first things we got to eat from my garden were the tomatoes and carrots. Dad made some homemade spaghetti sauce! I made carrot sticks with ranch dressing dip. It was so yummy! Fresh veggies taste so much better then store bought! Sadly, the watermelon seeds didn't do so well. I kept having problems with the birds eating my seeds.

A little rabbit went after my garden as well. At first I found it cute and amusing. Then when I realized that sweet bunny was eating up my hard work, I got annoyed. I figured there was lots there, so I'd have to share it anyway.

Time went by and soon it would be another month before I could fully harvest everything. I had worked hard for months. The garden was beautiful! I would get a good crop from it. I was looking forward to that day, but alas! Mom and Dad had gotten laid off from work. The sock factory had gone out of business. Money was short and I was told we had to move in a few weeks! After all that hard work! I was pretty upset about it.

I didn't get to harvest my garden that year. I'm sure that the people that moved in after us, enjoyed it! If not, I think my neighbors would make sure it didn't go to waste! I never tried to grow a vegetable garden again. We ended up moving many times over the years. I never stayed anywhere long enough to grow another vegetable garden again. But I'll always remember the satisfaction I felt, knowing I had once grown a beautiful garden for some strangers that I never met.

Learn more about this author, The Idea Girl.
Click here to send this author comments or questions.