by Gautier Sans Avoire

Created on: May 31, 2008   Last Updated: June 10, 2008

My most amazing gardening memory

When I was young, perhaps eleven or twelve, my grandmother put in a large, square, garden on the side of her house. In April, My uncle brought over his roto-tiller on a trailer. We all watched him drag this contraption out to the site and laughed uproariously when it dragged him up and down the churned up rows, until he got the hang of it, then he made it neat and well plowed up. My grandmother then took charge and planted vegetables that the family enjoyed. All the kids were kept far away from the black, rich dirt and all playing near there was done at risk of being yelled at; "Get away from that Garden!"...

In May, green shoots and sprouts appeared and all of the children eagerly guessed at which plant was which. Only the experienced adults knew one from the other. As spring passed into summer, the varieties became clear and the grandkids got to learn about weeding and watering, everyone helping out in some way. During June and July, the hot summer sun seemed to shine every day and the corn grew taller. The tomatoes spread wide and full. Everything seemed lush and green, especially to a small child seeing his first successful garden.
August came, sweltering in heat and humidity. Some of the early maturing vegetables were ready to be picked. It was so hot out that few of the family wanted to even go outside let alone work with grandma. I volunteered because I knew she would let me play with the water hose and cool off. That was when I learned the lesson of the hot peppers. It was hot and humid and I was helping my grandma pick the vegetables she pointed out. She showed me the Jalapeno hot peppers and warned me to be careful. I naively picked one and handed it to her. Sweating profusely, I then wiped my face with my hands. A serious mistake I quickly learned. A searing heat swept my face and I began to cry. My grandma tried to comfort me but she was laughing as she led me to the kitchen sink. She wasn't cruel but she was a country grandma and she had warned me. It was funny, if not at the time...
That memory lives with me still, all these years later. I have my own garden now, and there are no hot peppers. Everything seems smaller now though, comparing it to my memories of that first green, lush, garden of my youth...

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