I’m aware that no one will probably be much interested about a personal story involving my son, but if you will please indulge me I will keep it short and it does have a connection to gardening. I have been in the hospital for the past week and in my absence my 22 year old son, who still lives at home, reluctantly agreed to water my garden and pick the vegetables. Last night when he came to visit me, he brought his camera along and showed me the pictures he had taken that day. Knowing that I was concerned and was wondering how my garden was doing, he went around and took pictures of each plant in each raised bed and container so I could see for myself how everything looked and was doing. He did this without me even suggesting or asking him to. There are times when my kids surprise me with their thoughtfulness and it just makes me almost burst with pride.
apropos of almost nothing except maybe vegetable gardening
A sweet story- thanks for sharing. :)
a WONDERFUL story! Thanks for sharing!!!!
It's more than thoughtfulness. He is telling you he loves you and cares. Make sure you let him know how you feel. The pride should come from raising a child who can share her/his feelings.
That young man is a keeper. Nice job!!
Sweet story, thanks for sharing.
That's awesome! What a wonderful thing he did for you. I think you're doing a fine job raising him and I really hope you're feeling better soon!
Totally worth sharing! Very heartwarming.
I hope you will feel well soon.
That's the best "gardening" story I've read in a long time, thanks for sharing it with us. Give that boy a big hug for his thoughtfulness.
I hope you have fully recovered from whatever sent you to the hospital.
I love it. That would mean so much.
Get better soon.
Aw what a sweetheart. :-) And a speedy recovery to you.
This will be my last post from my hospital bed 'cause I'm going home now. Can't wait to see my garden and sleep in my own bed. "Free at last, free at last, thank God almighty, I'm free at last".
Good news. Next report hopefully will be good gardening news.
Hope you are feeling well, Hrp. I'm a retired nurse and know how horrible it is to be in the hospital! What a sweet thing your son thought of to do for you. I know it means a lot. Janet
Thanks to everyone who read and responded to the story about my son. He really is a keeper. As far as how my garden did while I was away, everything is stressed due to the heat but I only lost about ¾ of my beautiful squash plants which were starting their slow death march when I went into the hospital. The good news, I suppose, is that it looks like they succumbed to spider mites which I can deal with the next time and not the dreaded squash vine borer or squash bug. However, since I'm in a wheel chair for the next four weeks, I can't actually give it a close inspection to confirm my suspicion. The two things that are doing very well are my okra, four and a half feet tall and still growing, and cucumbers. My son had a pile of okra pods sitting on the kitchen table waiting for me to come home and make fried okra for him. The main reason I'm growing okra is for him, along with chives for his baked potatoes. He doesn’t eat many other vegetables other than corn, but that is another story told on another thread (see picture below). Some of the okra pods were just too large and tough and had to be thrown out but there was still plenty for a large batch of fried okra (I used Paula Deen's recipe, which surprisingly did not call for two sticks of butter like most of her recipes do, ha!). I guess I’m going to have to start freezing okra, find other recipes that are healthier than fried, or open a vegetable stand on the street corner and sell it.
“Although inspired by a true incident, the following picture is fictional and does not depict the actual squirrel that destroyed my corn crop.”
Glad you are home. Wonderful story. Get well soon.
If you can get your chair into your garden, hoeing and a little shoveling can be done from a seated position. Or mulching, if someone brings the mulch to you.
Now is when raised beds are MOST welcome. The combination of a raised bed with a depressed walkway around it and some paving stones on the walkway makes a garden cane-friendly and wheelchair-tolerant. When you get more mobile, consider parking a few chairs in strategic spots, and maybe raising the seat with a very firm pillow like a sofa cushion.
Just please be careful when standing up from a wheelchair: if the wheels aren't locked, they fly out from under you and make it real easy to whack your spine or skull.
(I am guessing that many 22-year-olds who aren't as classy as your son have been hearing about this and being asked why THEY can't be more like HIM!)
Corey
:)