am i lazy?

or just unqualified?

no, seriously. i really think i'm unqualified. because while i can be lazy about some things, i feel basic life-stuff is fairly simple to keep up with.

for example (and the prime motivation for this post): gardening.

because my mother is a master gardener, should i know how to keep a plant alive?

because google tells me how to repot my plumeria or how often to water my tomatoes, should i be able to keep a plant alive?

i've decided the answer is no.

there are too many factors.

here's a great example of my feeble efforts smashed to bits...

i buy tomato plants and a pepper plant. i plant them.

justin and i take turns watering said plants. and our herbs, rosemary and mint. maybe even a few splashes on the plumeria, dying pineapple and hibernating papaya.

a few days pass.

"oooo! ah ha! ha ha ha! look!!" i yell to my husband one morning as i stick my nose to the glass on our back door. "there's red on our tomato plants! i think we have a fruit!" to which we wander out and find a small, sad-looking tomato.

we continue watering, weeding, even fertilizing. and watching. lots of watching.

about a week goes by and behold! there are TWO little red shiny balls hanging from one of the plants. the other plant has a small, rotting, green ball, limply hanging onto a thread of life. i hastily pick it, disappointed, and throw it toward the almost-compost pile.

then we go some days without watering. i go out and notice we have a pepper! yay! i pick it and we eat it in our stir fry. we've basically lost one of the tomato plants by now. it's wilted and down to a thin, brown, cracking stalk. the other plant is still chugging away, promising some more tomatoes.

fast forward two months and six tomatoes or so (from the one, living plant). i'm wedding the garden in my dress after church. it's hot. just as i'm about to step into the garden box, i freeze. there is a rubbery, bright green leafy plant chilling beside my tomato plant. never seen this before. i know it's not a weed. it's clearly lettuce. clearly. everyone knows what lettuce looks like.

so... i'm excited. and notice there are a few other spots growing, in and outside the garden box. we didn't plan them but guess the landlord did -- after all, he was way more dedicated to his garden than we are.

and so, i guess what i'm trying to say is: i don't like gardening but i like the results.

my little tomato, pepper, herb plants have given me inspiration, but the reality is, if i can't make a salad at least three nights a week from my own garden, i don't want a garden. which brings me to my next reality...

i have to keep trying. and it's time to get serious about this gardening thing. more rows, more starter plants, clean compost pile and diligent fertilizing, watering, weeding and watching.

surely this is achievable. even by my brown thumb.

i'll update you in a few months. :P