Mary, Mary, quite contrary, how does your garden grow?

This first week of January 2013, M prepared and I planted our winter crops.

For the most part, we moved to this old house back in ’97 because of the amount of land it sat on and how it privately and discreetly lay between other homes, nestled and caressed by an outline of pittosporums around its perimeter.  Heavy thinning soon took place.

Our first home, an award winning designed Eichler model, had slowly been shrinking as our brood grew. I invaded M’s coveted back lawn for a vegetable garden and the children’s swing set and play area, reduced it further.  We had rounded brick flowerbeds and sprinklers installed, front and back.  I had personally plotted and inserted over 600 bulbs into the ground.  Tasty producing peach and apricot trees dotted the front side lawn and edged the pool. Our atrium dripped and shot up in levels of green; hanging spider, ivy and pelargoniums from the rafters and begonias, caladiums, elephant ears and S.African species of exotic bromeliads rose from the ground edging the inner Saltillo tile patio with a gigantic three tiered ceramic fountain filled with incredibly stalwart goldfish the children had won at various spring and summer fairs.

That was the home where we put in a lot of sweat equity, a fixer upper. It was our labor of love for two years till we brought each of our babies home to it.  Our hippie wine/hang out room with two comfy papoose chairs and a macramé hanging coffee table became the red, white and black Westie puppies’ nursery. As chic as an Eichler built home is for a young couple, its walls of glass became a concern every time one of the kids ran into them with their heads while crawling, their walkers while learning to cruise around and their big wheel trikes when nearing their terrible two’s.

Plus, we just wanted them to roam free, barefoot and loose in a secure large yard.  We both ascribe to the Jean Jacques Rousseau philosophy of child rearing as well as a strong belief in formal academia.  So we searched, dropped our search, saved more money and researched, clipped coupons and miraculously found this parcel.

But, I digress.