A place to grow

One of our favorite things about Rittenhouse is the opportunity it provides for us to be outside.  Oliver is a boy who loves to be outdoors: playing on the deck with his cars, watering the flowers, walking (our riding his fire engine) through the neighborhood, being at the park, and, of course, running.

Our backyard provides the opportunity to have a garden.  Something I thought I might like, but did not know for sure.  After we moved in, I first added several of flowers to the existing landscaping.  And just to test my minimum skills, I planted a few tomato plants and herbs.  To my surprise the edible plants (as well as the flowers) have flourished. 

When we first saw the tomatoes start coming in, I explained to Oliver that the green ones were baby tomatoes, and we could not eat them until they turned red.  He patiently waited.  My first tomato plant was a Bonine (full sized) tomato and a couple weeks later I added a few cherry tomato plants.  A couple of the cherry tomatoes came in first.  Oliver was so excited to eat them that he did not hesitate and grabbed it and put it into his mouth before I even got a chance to say it was ok.  When the sole Bonine turned red, I knew what to expect.  So I told him it was ready, we went out and talked about cleaning it first, but ultimately decided a wipe on the t-shirt was good enough.

Earlier today, I noticed a couple more cherry tomatoes were red.  This evening Oliver noticed them too while playing on the deck.  He rushed over grabbed just the red one, quickly wiped on his shirt, and popped it into his mouth.  Savored the taste and then went back to playing with his trucks--right at home in his garden.

I now understand the joy that can come from gardening.  We have lots more tomatoes coming in this summer, but I am already thinking about what I will plant next year.