Just Peachy
We have a compost bin in our back yard, it has been there for years. My parents, when they were alive, used to take out all of their coffee filters, egg shells, and fruit and vegetable scraps. My dad would stir the bin every month to ensure even composting, then every fall, he would place a thick layer of compost over all of the gardens to break down over the winter.
It was good, rich compost, and they always had great success using it.
One spring, it had been warm very early, and my dad was outside drinking his coffee when I came out to join him. We were chatting and I could see my dad looking at the corner flower bed strangely. He stood up and walked over to it, bent down and touched what I thought was a weed. Oh oh I thought, it won't live long around here, not with my parents! My dad stood up, rubbed his chin and said "I'll be darned, there's tomatoes growing all over this garden".
I walked over to see what he was talking about and sure enough, there were hundreds of tomatoes growing in their flower garden. Confused, I asked my dad how on earth those tomatoes could have possibly began growing there if neither one had planted them. My dad seemed as confused as I was, but then the light bulb switched on in his head. "The composter"! he said. "The composter"? I repeated his statement. "What about it"?
My dad explained to me that all of the scrap tomato seeds we threw in the composter last year, were spread on the gardens the previous fall and during this warm spring, they germinated into all of these tomatoes we see now. My dad told me squirrels and birds are also the reason trees grow in so many random places. They inadvertently plant the seeds when they drop them.
Wow, I thought, I can remember my grade 11 Horticulture teacher telling us much the same thing. He called it naturalization. That is probably the only thing I learned in that class!
My dad began frantically working to unearth most of the tomato plants so he could transplant them into another garden. "If your mother sees them, she'll just pluck them out". So, my dad and I quickly dug out as many tomatoes as we could. We transplanted them into old margarine containers my dad had saved over the years.
We planted the tomatoes into the vegetable garden. The left over plants he gave away to anyone who wanted them. My dad lovingly cared for these plants all summer. Weeding, watering and fertilizing until we saw luscious, plump red tomatoes growing. They were delicious, in fact, I can honestly say they were the best tomatoes he ever grew from his vegetable garden!
Throughout that summer, we would hear my mom say she was forever weeding out tomatoes that seemed to be growing wild in her flower garden. My dad would wink at me and it became an inside joke between him and I.
This spring, I have found what I believe to be a peach tree growing in my mom's flower garden. The same garden that she lovingly, and painstakingly tended to for 47 years before her death.
For years, my mom and dad tried unsuccessfully to grow peach and plum trees. They would thrive during the summer months, but no matter what they did, these young trees would never survive our harsh winters. It's ironic that I did not plant this peach tree or even work to keep it alive, yet here it is, 7 feet high and thriving! I admit, I am not as fastidious about weeding as my parents, so it has probably been growing a few years. My dad always said "You can't fight nature". He was right. Maybe, my parents have made it possible for this peach tree to be here. I think wherever my parents are, they have connections in HIGH places.
Whatever the reason for my new tree, whether naturalization, coincidence or divine intervention, I don't care. I have a peach tree growing, where it could never grow before, and that's just peachy to me. ♡
It was good, rich compost, and they always had great success using it.
One spring, it had been warm very early, and my dad was outside drinking his coffee when I came out to join him. We were chatting and I could see my dad looking at the corner flower bed strangely. He stood up and walked over to it, bent down and touched what I thought was a weed. Oh oh I thought, it won't live long around here, not with my parents! My dad stood up, rubbed his chin and said "I'll be darned, there's tomatoes growing all over this garden".
I walked over to see what he was talking about and sure enough, there were hundreds of tomatoes growing in their flower garden. Confused, I asked my dad how on earth those tomatoes could have possibly began growing there if neither one had planted them. My dad seemed as confused as I was, but then the light bulb switched on in his head. "The composter"! he said. "The composter"? I repeated his statement. "What about it"?
My dad explained to me that all of the scrap tomato seeds we threw in the composter last year, were spread on the gardens the previous fall and during this warm spring, they germinated into all of these tomatoes we see now. My dad told me squirrels and birds are also the reason trees grow in so many random places. They inadvertently plant the seeds when they drop them.
Wow, I thought, I can remember my grade 11 Horticulture teacher telling us much the same thing. He called it naturalization. That is probably the only thing I learned in that class!
My dad began frantically working to unearth most of the tomato plants so he could transplant them into another garden. "If your mother sees them, she'll just pluck them out". So, my dad and I quickly dug out as many tomatoes as we could. We transplanted them into old margarine containers my dad had saved over the years.
We planted the tomatoes into the vegetable garden. The left over plants he gave away to anyone who wanted them. My dad lovingly cared for these plants all summer. Weeding, watering and fertilizing until we saw luscious, plump red tomatoes growing. They were delicious, in fact, I can honestly say they were the best tomatoes he ever grew from his vegetable garden!
Throughout that summer, we would hear my mom say she was forever weeding out tomatoes that seemed to be growing wild in her flower garden. My dad would wink at me and it became an inside joke between him and I.
This spring, I have found what I believe to be a peach tree growing in my mom's flower garden. The same garden that she lovingly, and painstakingly tended to for 47 years before her death.
For years, my mom and dad tried unsuccessfully to grow peach and plum trees. They would thrive during the summer months, but no matter what they did, these young trees would never survive our harsh winters. It's ironic that I did not plant this peach tree or even work to keep it alive, yet here it is, 7 feet high and thriving! I admit, I am not as fastidious about weeding as my parents, so it has probably been growing a few years. My dad always said "You can't fight nature". He was right. Maybe, my parents have made it possible for this peach tree to be here. I think wherever my parents are, they have connections in HIGH places.
Whatever the reason for my new tree, whether naturalization, coincidence or divine intervention, I don't care. I have a peach tree growing, where it could never grow before, and that's just peachy to me. ♡
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