| THE STEPHEN KING GARDEN |
It’s harvest time and my gardens are no exception, except they have taken on a macabre look. The Kentucky Wonder Bush green beans I planted started vining. We put up poles and fence for them to climb. Jack and the Beanstalk comes to mind; if we had taller poles they would still be climbing. They climbed to the top and started back down. They reached out across the gaps in the fence and held each other. Soon they grabbed the nearby tomato plants and pulled them up the poles. The tomatoes in desperation tried to grow away. So, the bushes are split in half covering the Spinach turned Parsley that I planted. No, I have the seed packet. It definitely says Spinach on the package but it is the prettiest row of parsley I have ever grown. If that isn’t bad enough, the cucumber vines snuck under the bush Acorn Squash that was supposed to be gourds, under the strangled tomatoes, and eventually was snatched by the attack pole beans and dragged up the poles. The bush beans being community oriented, now grab hold of the Bush Squash and hug it into the menagerie growing up the poles and fence of the now-bean salad. Carrots and beets growing in front of the pole beans have been spared so far, except, for the petunias that threaten to overrun those rows. The vegetable garden isn’t the only renegade, out of control growth in our yard this year. Grapevines are competing with Jack-and-the-Beanstalk beans for attention on the other side of the yard. They grow up their fence, over the arbor poles, come back down and encase the hanging planters in spider web patterns of vine, leaf and tendril. Maybe they will drop their grapes in the hanging baskets in future years because I doubt I will ever be able to remove those baskets again. Right now, the various petunias, marigolds, gerbanias and geraniums send colorful tiny flag blooms out through the maze of green grapevine leaves like puffs of SOS messages. People say my gardens look great this year. They do. Orange acorn squash blossoms peaking out between bean vines, yellow cucumber blooms sprinkled like angel dust among the shades of green on the pole bean fence, red tomatoes like round flags glow in the lush greenness of the vegetable menagerie. In my sleep I hear the screams--tomato appeals, cucumber cries, and squash squeals –“Save us. We are being hugged to death by mutant beans.” ================================================================= About the Author Billie A Williams is an award-winning author and freelance writer. In addition to an array of other projects she is the owner of the Word_Mage group and their monthly ezine for writers. She is also author of a series of How to Write – for mystery and fiction writers of other genres. Her most recent mystery suspense novel “Bed and Breakfast Murders,” released January 2006 from Wings ePress, Inc. Visit Billie’s website at www.billiewilliams.com. |
| by Billie A Williams © 2006 |