by Mike Miller

Created on: February 18, 2009   Last Updated: March 05, 2009

MY INSIDE GARDEN.

The winter sun, this far north, never rises much above the horizon, it seems. Colors are never vibrant. Urban grime from a thousand wood burning chimneys lends a somber sootiness to the buildings. Even the snowbanks turn black after a while....

In my little apartment, it felt no better. The whitewashed walls have turned grey, and the few light bulbs I use cast long shadows into the corners. The downturn in the economy has only exacerbated the feeling of gloom that hovers about.

I sit with a cup of tea, Japanese Bancha, slouched in a chair.... I crave life, green, growing, life. So I have resolved to purchase a sprouter....

Such was the condition of life hereabouts a mere two years ago.... Now, all is changed.... All is new.

It started with lentils. A tattered bag from the back of the cupboard...I sprouted them. They came alive. Shoots reaching up, like hands at a concert. I would come home from work...hurry home, in fact, like a man with a family. And there they were, arms out, leaning toward the bulb I had left on for them, toward the light. They begged to root.

So I bought a bag of potting soil, and tomato seeds. In an empty egg carton I planted the shoots in soil. I propped them up on toothpicks. They clung to their leaningposts like long distance hikers taking a break before pressing on.

And so, began my inside garden. Somewhere I'd read that plants grow better upside down, gravity pulling the vital juices to the flower and the fruit. I bought a couple of tubes of PVC pipe and hung them, filled with potting soil, from the ceiling, and planted the tomato seedlings hanging down.

Growth was slow at first. I began leaving a light on all day while I was at work...natural sunlight was insufficient. I couldn't leave my shades open when I wasn't there...it was an invitation to thieves. (Not that my 12'' television, and tiny stereo were much to steal.) Besides, my windows were small and faced north....

I kept sprouting, and the sprouts kept begging for soil. So I kept planting.... All hanging in tubes suspended from my ceiling. I realized that the Hanging Gardens of Babylon, that long lost Wonder of The Ancient World, was a stroke of genius that we are only re-discovering now.

I bought pots too, and planted trees. They thrived in the bathroom, and the hall. Springtime came and I realized that my whole world was green, inside and out. I even planted bamboo - I wanted FAST growth! I made a window box: African violets!

On entering my apartment, there is a bright green garden, with little pathways to the kitchen, bath, and bed. I live within an inside garden. Then something really amazing happened.... I met a woman.

We met at the garden section of the local hardware store. Eventually I invited her to see my inside garden, and she fell in love with it. And now she lives in the inside garden too - we are married.

...And let me tell you a secret: we have a human sprout growing!

And that is the story of my inside garden. It has changed my life, and can change yours too!

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