Peas and Thank You!
Summer fun is in full tilt. Hazy sunshine, humid nights and toasty temperatures have us up and running – and some of those races are off to look for shade! I’ve been working with my young friends in their garden – and as we contemplated their selections of herbs and vegetables the other day, we decided we wanted to add some lettuce to the vegetable bed. Fresh tomatoes, crisp cucumbers and tasty herbs are even better when top dressing a fresh plate of homegrown greens! Hmm - planting this cool weather crop in the heat of the summer would require some tricky maneuvering if we hoped to squeeze this into the garden rotation. As we stood exposed in the full midday sun – we wondered if we might plan better with a cool drink seated under a shady tree. Passing through the garden, we picked some lemon thyme, tossed it in our water bottles and caught our breath on a passing fragrant breeze… Of course – SHADE! If we planted a tented trellis of fast growing peas over a row of leafy lettuce we would enjoy the best of everything! Those snappy little peas grow fast and their leaves and vines cascading over the trellis would protect the lettuce from the direct rays of the hot sun, add some more color and flavor to our garden and heck – even provide a special shady spot for my petite gardeners to hide on a sunny day themselves!
Gardens provide wonderful opportunities to think, experiment, hypothesize and play. Employing practical skills to design, solve problems and build imagination is easy and very rewarding. The simple lesson of creating a trellis with sticks and string gifted us with a fun afternoon craft while teaching the value of cooperation between companion planting and team of gardeners alike. You can be sure we will digest these simple solutions just as quickly as we nibble our peas and sharing shaded pause under homegrown canopy is as comfortable as any padded parterre. We will cool our heels while dreaming of corn maze puzzles, zucchini races and of course – that heaping bowl of salad! While there is plenty of room for you to join us in our garden we remind you that gardens are communities where we step lightly and dig heartily. If you find a moment to step in, would you mind passing the water? Peas…. and thank you!
