My weeds.

Remember how I dazzled you all a few weeks ago with the little kitchen garden I had planted? I was so proud, and wondered at the folly of getting what appeared to be green bean seeds in the soil, since I had what appeared to be green beans popping up amongst my tomatoes and cucumbers.  Well……it turns out that my garden really is just a weed patch because those are in fact just weeds!! Come on you have to admit these do look like baby green beans, right?!

Andy comes and buffs my wood floors on occasion,

This totally looks like a green bean, right!? (kind of tastes like one too)

which does wonders for the upkeep of the hardwood with four kids and a dog.  Andy also happens to be a Master Gardener, and while my husband and I sat together outside drinking our coffee the other morning, Andy came out and stated verbatim, “Liz, (he calls me Liz) next year I am going to help you turn that laughing stock of a garden of yours into a thing of beauty”.  Really to say this in front of my husband was fueling the fire of his ridicule towards my gardening skills in a big way. It validated all of his doubts, and even more so when Andy informed me that my “Green Beans” were in fact weeds that I need to pull.

I felt defeated as I pulled out my fake green beans, leaving huge gaps in the layout of my garden. As I was thinking that maybe I really will never be the gardener I hope to be, I glanced over at the cherry tomato plant to see a cluster of green baby tomatoes dangling from the vine, infusing me with hope.

Tomatoes of hope!

Yes, I’m a tad bit humiliated, but it is hard to trample the spirit of an eternal optimist, especially when I’m given a sliver of hope like my tomatoes.  This year my little weed patch of a garden will produce a handful of tomatoes and I’m sure some cucumbers. The chives, sage and basil are already thriving. Next year, Andy has promised to help me turn my garden around, he offered one season of help, and then it’s up to me.