My Father's Garden

*

In my Father's Garden

My parents' tiny slice of Pavlova Paradise contains a large vegetable garden.
My father has tended his veggie plots with loving care for over 58 years.
He particularly loves compost and with the frequent addition
of rotting matter the garden beds now stand 12" above
the surrounding paths.

Coming into winter the vegetable garden is almost bare.
A few giant carrots remain - flourishing green
in their perfectly straight rows.

The humble pink geranium will always remind me of family
as this plant was grown from a cutting taken from my
grandparents' Timaru home.

A few colourful flowers are clinging to the remnants
of Autumn days before the long, cold winter when
the flower beds will mostly stand bereft of colour.

And then it will be left to the privet hedges to paint the yard.

The strawberry patch is still a mass of vibrant greenery

And look - a few late strawberries,
lets eat them before the frosts...

*