Stock-The-Garden Party

This Saturday we hosted a garden party in hopes of planting a few flower beds and inspiring our front yard to be a little more welcoming and attractive. Depending on who you talk to some participants may call it a garden party, others might say the "party" was really just a masquerade for mini labor camp. Friends and family dutifully showed up with foliage in hand and together, with the smell of fertilizer in the air, we dug, planted, ate, and gave our front porch area a general face lift.

Often we San Diegans garden under the impression that we live in a lush rainforest. The reality is that we live in a coastal desert. It doesn't take a geologist to know that the conglomerate soil is anything but fertile delta silt. It took a post digger and a few very large men with very large biceps to dig through the layers of packed, sandy dirt, cobblestone sized rock, boulder sized rock, and sea shells in our flower bed to plant moderate little salvia, morning glory, and lavender plants. (The post digger and diggers survived but suffered minor wounds and warping.) Hopefully nothing a little Miracle Grow gardening soil won't conquer.

Which leads me to what really boggles my mind. Is it not incredible that we pay for dirt? And poo for that matter. Why do we pay such a premium for things that really should be on our plethora and free list? Because we live in a desert area masking as a luscious, water-abundant community and if I want more than sand castles, rock labyrinths, and cacti in my yard then I'm going to have to offer the ground a few little helpful nutrients. I was thinking of beginning potty training with Ms. Little Little soon. Maybe I'll just teach her a few tricks and cut down on the cost of "nutrients".

Thank you friends and family for giving us a new walk home. It is such a blast of breath to the soul to walk towards our door, see the transformation of what was once weeds, and know that a lot of love and community went into it. So thanks community for jolting your shoulders against the ping of rock and for allowing our little family to receive what it means to be in a community.