“I asked her, What can we say about lesbians and gardening? Oh, she said, you mean like when we moved into this house and planted potatoes in the side yard, and now they’re coming up everywhere? And you planted climbing roses all along the back against our neighbor’s garage and now rose branches are poking up through their garage roof? Or you digging up all the grass in the front yard so you could plant more roses, and spring bulbs, and all the irises that wouldn’t fit in back, and a lemon tree, and a flowering crabapple, even though the front yard is smaller than the backyard, which is smaller than our living room? Let’s not forget how you fill up those plastic bags with crabgrass and then call me to carry them out to the street for you. Yes, but I have to battle the crabgrass, I protested. ANy little place will give rise to whole colonies of crabgrass. Besides, what about all those tomato seedlings you planted in that little space between the rows of corn, that grew so thick we couldn’t find the tomatoes, and besides which you hate to eat tomatoes unless they don’t look like tomatoes? We could tell how we tore down the front half of our garage, she answered, and used the salvaged siding to make planter boxes. That was very good, I agreed. Also your making a strawberry pyramid out of leftover rain gutters. Your edging the front walk with purple grape hyacinth really makes it pretty in the spring, she said. Remember when we came home one afternoon and found a woman transfixed on the sidewalk, just staring at the flowers? Good way to meet your neighbors, I said. I’m going to take her some bulbs when I dig them up in a few months. And our porch has become THE place to be for every cat on the street. That’s because they like being in a garden that smells so good; all that lavender, rosemary, sage… I think I’ll build a deck in the driveway, she said dreamily, so we’ll have more space for plants. I love it when you plan projects like that, I said, giving her a kiss. Let’s go to bed with some graph paper and a few pencils, she answered, giving me a hug.”
