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I had always looked up to my grandmother. She was the consummate gardener and homemaker, and to me, she was the most amazing woman in the world. There was nothing she couldn't do, especially in the garden. I knew the privilege of having my grandmother live with me, and I wanted to be just like her. I followed her about in the garden, asking her a million questions, ranging from the silly, to the surprisingly insightful, for my age.

In the late spring, just after I'd turned nine, she took me out, past the gooseberry and red current bushes, and pointed to a small patch of barren land, about the size of a baby's blanket. This postage stamp sized little plot, was to be my first real garden, where I could plant, whatever I desired. My heart quickened with possibility. My very own garden! The possibilities seemed endless. Visions of great street side vegetable stands popped into my mind, where I would make vast fortunes, selling what I'd grown in my little garden. Next came the visions, of how I would spend this money, but that's another story.

I jabbed at the soil, with my miniature garden tools, a present she'd given me, after my first piano recital earlier in the month. I rambled non-stop with a child's enthusiasm, at what I could grow. My first idea was corn, however, that wasn't to last, as she quickly told me, that there wasn't enough room for my favourite vegetable. She put her arm around me and drew me close to her hip, seeing the disappointment in my face. "When you see the seeds, you'll find something you like." She said gently.

My next adventure was to be the garden department of our local K-mart. It was immense and colourful, with rows upon rows of paper packages on black metal shelves, all sorts of seeds, for vegetables and flowers. I paused near the varieties of squash seeds, instantly captivated by the bright orange of the Hallowe'en pumpkins. These were my next hope. Visions of great Hallowe'en pumpkins lighting our porch and windows in the fall. Like the corn, however, I was told, that there wasn't enough room, that pumpkins needed a lot of room to stretch out. This pattern continued with cucumbers, and gourds, and many of the other things, I wanted to plant. My options of what to plant, didn't seem so endless anymore and my dream of making my first million selling vegetables on a roadside stand, was quickly evaporating.

Just as I was about to give up, something else caught my eye. They were pretty, a deep purple pink, with snow white tips, and nice

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