Gardening

A perfect ear of corn. From a rooftop garden in the middle of New York City. I'm amazed. I tried Corn Sex In The City last year. My first time. Turns out, corn needs a helping hand. It's a pollination thing.

On the first day of summer, my corn stalks sprouted tassels. Tiny green tomatoes are hanging everywhere. The beanstalk's outgrown its trellis, so beans aren't far away. For those who prefer to just watch, the day lilies are popping.

Big week in the garden. First week some of it comes into the kitchen for real meals. Just picked the first ripe strawberries. The basil's going wild after the first week of hot sun. I'm thinking about a very fresh pesto tonight. Maybe a few of the season's first Basil Rolls.

Tomato and basil are out in the big pots. Corn and bean seeds are in the ground. Strawberry plants look like they're back for a fourth sweet season. Still time to get some seedlings at the Farmers Market for your season. In the yard or on a windowsill.

This is worth a trip. This is a trip. Flowers so strange and beautiful it's hard to imagine they occur in nature. On this planet. This seems to be orchid season; the shows are everywhere. Find one near you. Find an hour to stare at flowers that will leave you speechless.

Good timing. Because you have to get started during the next couple of weeks if you want to eat like a home farmer in a couple of months. The ripest, freshest, tastiest and sweetest. A totally hands-on experience: appreciate something very simple and unimaginably complicated.

The first signs of Spring. Green and above ground. Chilly but not frozen. I think they're hyacinths and crocuses. Maybe daffodils. It's great to have justifiable hope. They're so cheap and easy. They give back so much. C'mon, plant something.

Grow a vertical garden. A living wall. Woolly Pockets hang on the wall. Easily. Indoor versions and outdoor versions. I grew a salsa garden in one: cherry tomatoes, cucumbers, jalapeno peppers, coriander. String beans and nasturtiums in others.

Not much to look at yet, but it's encouraging. Five or six weeks to the first flowers. Weeks of flowers. Bright red and white. Living color on the windowsill of the window that looks out on three months of dormant black & white sensory deprivation.

If you have space, make time. To buy and plant some bulbs during the next few weeks. It's now ... or a year from now. Tulips, irises, lilies, daffodils, hyacinths, crocuses. All those things that just pop up right on time every year to let you know the natural world still works.