Inspiration from CW

Wednesday morning was filled with quick packing, heavy lugging, and sad good-byes as I loaded the car with everything I had collected over the school year.  My parents were surprised with how much I was bringing back with me; it seemed much more than I had brought in August.  Just two weeks ago it had taken my older sister an entire day to pack up her room, so we expected a similar time frame for me.  It took us less than two hours to clean out my room, leaving us with the entire day to spend as we pleased. As many parents love to do when visiting, we walked up and down DoG Street.

Having walked DoG Street more than a few times in just this past year, I wasn’t expecting anything too suppressing.  But instead of just sticking to the street, we wandered behind some houses and into the gardens.  The reach of the foxgloves inspired the photographer in my mom to snap some pictures. We found a pomegranate tree hiding behind a colonial stand–another month of summer and the pomegranates could be full size!  My favorite part of these gardens was when we found the herbs.  Rows of basil, rosemary, thyme, lavender.  Even celery, melons, and strawberries.  The possibilities of having an herb and vegetable garden! The smell of fresh basil and growing tomatoes is one of the most satisfying sensations, and always reminds me of the patch my grandmother grows during the summer.  Passing each different herb I would say to my mom, “Let’s grow this!  Why don’t we have that at home!  This looks good!”  My mom has her own supply of cilantro and basil, mint and usually parsley, but when we went to the store yesterday, we decided to expand our potted collection.

This morning I planted my very own strawberry plants in a strawberry pot.  I can already see baby white strawberries growing.  I helped plant rosemary, tarragon, cilantro, oregano and parsley in their own pots.  Some are new additions to my moms usual fresh herbs, but I’m excited to use any and all of them in fresh recipes this summer.  The cantaloupe I planted in the backyard are new to our garden.  I remember growing pumpkins when I was little and dragging them inside to carve for Halloween. Hopefully the cantaloupe will grow just as successfully.  But for now, all I can do is water and wait for my CW inspired plants to grow!