Heading down the garden path

"My passion for gardening may strike some as selfish, or merely an act of resignation in the face of overwhelming problems that beset the world. It is neither. I have found that each garden is just what Voltaire proposed in Candide: a microcosm of a just and beautiful society." 

— Andrew Weil

AUBURN — It is spring and my beloved garden looks like the town dump.

But my 20-by-40 foot garden has been a dumping ground for organic matter that will enhance the soil at the end of May when planting season arrives in Maine.

For the past six months, I have tossed in coffee grinds, ash from the wood stove, buckets of peels, seashells, dozens of fallen apples and mulched grass and leaves.

All this organic waste has been decomposing in my garden throughout the winter. It is a disgusting, soupy mix that helps my vegetables grow into healthy producers without the aid of pesticides and dubious fertilizers. 

So I begin the Herculean task of turning the dirt over to stir in this organic mush, where my grateful worms will take their cue and break down all of it into rich soil. I love my worms, who work for free, by the way.

It is back-breaking work, but when fresh tomatoes and broccoli arrive in July and August, I will be munching on veggies that are superior to store-bought produce.

Gardens are a lot of work, but when you shun television or endless hours trolling through Facebook, there is time to raise your own vegetables.

Your colon will thank you in the end.

You see, I will eat anything that comes out of the ground. Vegetables are key to avoiding stomach cancer and keep things moving in and out of your system.

You get the picture!

When there is an overabundant amount of vegetables, it gives me a chance to show my neighbors appreciation with a small bag of fresh-grown greens.

What better way to say thank you to neighbors who snowplow your driveway in the dead of winter without my asking for help.

I also re-did the flower bed for my wife who enjoys nature’s living works of art. I like flowers, but I enjoy vegetables more because you can’t eat flowers.

So I will toil in the dark, rich earth, fight off varmints with my cunning and guile, and those destructive bugs, to produce the perfect tomato, cucumber, or summer squash.

Like an artist, a garden is my work of art that I present to public each spring.