I was thirty before I had a vegetable garden. My husband and I bought a house thirty miles west of Chicago, which meant a commute of as much as two hours each way per day for me. I was stressed! He encouraged me to start a garden; he knew the joy it brought his beloved father, and I think he knew I needed something that used a different part of my brain (not to mention my back and knees!). I was an avid vegetable and flower gardener for close to a dozen years. But then life changed. I tried a balcony garden here in Arlington, VA, a couple times, but the birds made short work of it, even when I used netting.
So, that background and the fact that Heather King is one of my favorite living writers will show you why I’m excited about this month’s read. A harrow, as you may know, is an implement used to root up weeds and break up clods. Sometimes that’s physical; sometimes, mental or spiritual. In the “sell” copy for the book, Heather talks about her garden bringing satisfaction… but also worry and work. I suspect it will bring up a lot of memories for me–from the asparagus I could never get to grow to the brussels sprouts I leaned to love to gratitude for the man who encouraged me to grow in a particular way, though we’ve long since parted.
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