Grandma Cathy got me started on gardening this past Spring. We tried to get Dana into it but she does not like to get dirt on her fingers. She did help Grandma plant little onion bulbs: Grandma poked holes into the ground and Dana dropped the bulb into it, very daintily using only thumb and forefinger. After the 3rd onion bulb, she announces, "I'm getting the hang of this gardening thing!" She watches us dig around in the dirt, she waters her bean plant... that's about the extent of her gardening activities. Actually, that's not fair... she did help me get salvia into the ground by a big Rose of Sharon tree in the yard. And she did a whole flat, too. She wore latex-free disposable gloves.So, we're regulars at Agway. Alex likes being there but he gets antsy when I browse. My tarragon plant didn't do so well so I hoped to find another at Agway and just grow it in a container since I seem to have better luck at that. I love tarragon in a recipe Grandma Cathy discovered in _The Soprano's Cookbook_ for Grilled Chicken Oregano (recipe to follow).
I had Alex in the cart and we go down this long aisle, me talking all the while, "Mommy's just going to find some herbs, Boo Boo. Mommy needs a new herb plant. Then we'll go. One herb plant... maybe some potting soil... and a container..." I was looking at the flats of impatiens to my right. Alex looks around, grabs my chin and turns it to my left... where all the herbs are. He impatiently takes my hand and moves it to the nearest quart container of thyme. Mommy's jaw drops. "Oh! Good job, Alex! That's the wrong one though... let's look over here."
Btw, they didn't have any more tarragon. But they had a nice selection of pepper plants on sale. I picked up a tall jalapeno and asked, "What do you think, Alex?" He scanned the table, reached for the hot pepper plant above and put it on his lap... a nice specimen of Pretty in Purple.
