A Rosy Posy

About a month ago, someone plowed our garden spot. Then he tilled it. Then he harrowed it. Then he marked it into rows. Then he planted and planted and planted. Onions, cabbages, corn, tomatoes, all are out there. Everything is growing. The corn is two inches tall. Last night, I got this gorgeous posy:

It is more than just a clump of radishes.

1. It is saving and scrimping to buy land.
2. It is buying and maintaining a tractor.
3. It is watching weather and planning ahead for planting.
4. It is keeping a vegetable inventory, to know how much to plant each year.
5. It is changing diet to fit what grows in our area.
6. It is walking out to the garden every day to be sure things are okay.
7. It is stringing irrigation hoses out there and paying for water when the rain refuses to fall.
8. It is seeding it over in autumn with crimson clover so we either get a cover crop or else some venison.
9. It is buying and maintaining a small tiller for between rows, later.
10. It is researching through gardening books for help with pests and diseases.
11. It is sharpening and oiling the hoe, shovel, and rake.
12. It is pulling rocks out and chunking them into the ditch.
13. It is winding twine round and round and round stakes to support plants.
14. It is shredding piles and piles of newspapers for mulch.
15. It is staying up late and going out with a dorky “headlight cap” on and covering tender plants before a surprise frost comes.

All of the above, and more, go into the first bouquet of the vegetable gardening season. And here it is, held in the hand that provided it, the hand of someone who, though he doesn’t eat many radishes, knows who does.