Garden of plenty..........

             Spring is in the air, a time of rebirth,
        Pear, peach, apple trees all budding flowers.
        Carnations abound with petals of lush color,
          Tulips growing tall like miniature towers.

             Rains have come, softened the ground,
               must get to work, no time  to waste.
           Replace the old sticks, mark off the rows,
            clean up the grounds, must make haste.

             Clay and sand way down underneath,
           new layer of potting soil needs to be laid.
          Roma tomatoes are the first to be planted,
             thirty in six rows with cages we made.

       Next are cantaloupe, watermelons, eggplant,
    zucchini, summer squash, green bell peppers too.
      Each come in brown cups, stays with the plant,
       they are just beginning, tiny fragile life anew.

               Corn seeds can wait, easier to plant,
            tiny holes in the dirt, in neat little rows.
            Add three tiny kernels to each new spot,
        now, watch how your garden of plenty grows.

     Time to be patient, sprinkle vitamins and minerals,
        wait a few weeks, your garden of plenty awakes.
        Dirt spreading, tiny corn sprouts push through,
       plants are growing, spreading around the stakes.

              Flowers are blooming, bees pollinating,
       tiny fruits and vegetables are making a showing.
                Here come the birds, rabbits and toads,
                   invade, eat until I send them going.

         Rabbits eat the cantaloupe, birds the tomatoes,
                       toads seek shelter from the heat.
           This garden of plenty will yield quite a crop,
           make baskets to share with everyone we meet.

Written by:
Karen Palumbo
Photograph by:
Robert Palumbo
4/1/2007
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