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Gardening can be challenging at times, even frustrating, but the rewards are worth it! This past Father’s Day, my family headed out to Mom and Dad’s place for a celebration of my Dad and a nice night to focus on the enjoyment I get from being a Father too. We arrived, and as tradition in my family we pour a beverage and go for a ‘yard walk’. It is a nice time to stroll around their beautiful gardens including the amazing vegetable garden. Mom and Dad’s vegetable garden is something to be seen for sure! With custom espaliered peach trees that form the border at only 2’ high! The garden is loaded with raspberries, strawberries, broad beans, tomatoes, pumpkins, kale and all the herbs and lettuce you’d need to eat throughout the year.
Now you can imagine us all in our Sunday best, sipping a nice drink, when I see a head of lettuce shaking violently!
Mom had been complaining about the voles attacking the garden earlier. She spoke of whole tomato vines disappearing and, well, I thought that was a little crazy and could this really happen? Now it was and it was happening right in front of us! Something was shaking this lettuce and about to take it under! So Dad takes off like a lightning flash and seconds later returns with a garden hoe. Mom and Kimberley gasp at what is about to transpire. Then with a “thwack” he hits the lettuce with the perfect hit, slicing it off right at the root, not damaging a single leaf. The only problem was that Mom had already harvested lettuce for the evening dinner and the little vole had disappeared.
We ate well that night, lots of fresh greens! Once you slice into that tomato you grew yourself, or load your fresh blueberries on a bowl of ice cream, or feast on a big salad that only minutes ago was in a tug of war with a vole, you’ve never tasted anything like produce from your garden!
Gardening for food, flowers or just to beautify your home is made better with a ‘yard walk’ with friends and family, and that is what makes gardening so rewarding!
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