Grandpa’s Garden

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My grandfather was a gardener. He grew roses in his front yard, a grapevine on an overhead arbor near the side door of his house, and a vegetable garden in his backyard. A visit to Grandpa’s house during the growing season always included inspecting the progress of what was growing in the garden. This backyard was the site of my parents’ wedding reception, many family gatherings and celebrations, picnics and clambakes, and annual Easter egg hunts. My cousins and I would put on our snowsuits and build snowmen in the backyard during the winter. My grandfather constructed a fireplace/grill in one corner of the yard and another corner was designated for his garden. An old apple tree dominated the backyard until it died. As I grew the size of the backyard seemed to diminish. The yard that was the location for so many happy childhood events was in reality no larger than a postage stamp.

When my Uncle Dom, my grandfather’s oldest son, purchased a house outside the city limits my grandfather moved his garden to the much larger backyard. My aunts told me that while inspecting my grandfather’s new garden, I held out my hands palms pointed upwards and asked my grandfather, “but where are the watermelons” which I pronounced as “water mel-owns” just like grandpa. Years later my father bought a small farm even further out on the same road and my grandfather created an even bigger garden. He chose a site far from a water source and spent much of the day carrying buckets of water to his garden and then resting in the shade.

I am a gardener. I plant vegetables in a space in my backyard as small as my grandfather’s original site and when the seeds burst from the ground and the plants grow and bear fruit I feel a connection with my grandfather and those simpler times. Last year I planted a watermelon plant. The vine grew and produced three tiny melons no bigger than baseballs. I think my grandfather would have been proud of me.

"There is a garden in every childhood, an enchanted place where colors are brighter, the air softer, and the morning more fragrant than ever again." ~Elizabeth Lawrence
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