Glamorous (?) life of a gardener

A quick recap of last Sunday’s Northwest Horticultural Society’s Meet the Board Tour…

The day began (EARLY) with an on-air radio interview with Bob Tanem of KSFO AM out of San Francisco. I wonder why garden talk shows are always on in the wee hours of the day. At least this one was within my own time zone! We chatted about my book, Growing Your Own Vegetables. Of course the funny part is I was all prepared to chat up my latest title in the series – Canning & Preserving Your Own Harvest. Lucky for me I can talk veggies in my sleep! The giant cup of coffee at my side kept me sharp throughout the 30 minute interview. (Here’s a link to the podcast, Dad & Kevin.) Thank you to my house guests and husband for keeping the heckling to themselves in the next room.

OK, that task out of the way… a quick look at the garden to make sure all was in place for the tour which was to begin at noon. RAIN! Sheesh, driest summer in Seattle history and the only two days it rains is the day of our big outdoor Graduation party for our son and the garden tour day…probably should have seen that coming. Refreshed by the moisture and the cooler air, the garden was looking as good as it ever was going to get.

At this point I was still without a camera so you’ll just have to paint a picture in your mind dear reader!

Noon: guests arrive along with a beautiful sun break and clear blue skies…as well as an angry swarm of flesh-eating yellow jackets right at the entrance to the garden. HUH? Where had they been just yesterday…? or even an hour ago? I mean this wasn’t the occasional buzzing wasp…this was scary!

Apparently rain, moisture, followed by sun had driven the swarm from the ground beneath one of my prized bowling balls. I attempted to block the entrance to their muddy nest by rolling said bowling ball over the hole; boy did that make them mad!!! I guess you just have to file this under “it’s always something…” To my knowledge, no one got stung and went into anaphylactic shock, so that’s a good thing.

It was a hectic but lovely afternoon greeting friends and visitors. For me gardenmaking is such an intimate, personal expression that being on a tour is not unlike having a huge party…where guests are invited to go through your closets, medicine cabinet, even the shelves in your messy basement! I always get myself riled up with nerves but generally end up enjoying the act of sharing. People are kind, complimentary and generally have the same issues that I’m fighting. Well, maybe not the seemingly Africanized attack bees.

At the end of the day good friends showed up with wine and snacks and their loving support. All in all a good experience mixed with both satisfaction at sharing my garden vision and just the right amount of humbling nuance to remind me that I’m merely along for the rollercoaster ride that is a year in the garden!