My dream garden is exactly half a mile away from our home.
Our running route passes the garden at the beginning of the run, when our legs are fresh and eager to go. It also stands as a nice landmark for our return home, a gentle reminder of “only half a mile to go”.
I have my first glimpse of “The Garden” on the left side of a narrow shortcut. During Spring and Summer lots of flowers hang halfway through the path.
Over the years I’ve developed a craving to see it, no matter the season, it is always beautiful to me. Sometimes I do not feel that much like running, but the thought of “The Garden” makes me go for it.
Its beauty is in the many small details…
For a long time I wondered who the gardener was.
Then, one day I saw her for the first time: an attractive woman in her early-sixties, wearing a large sun hat, a long and simple working dress all the way down to her feet, her image a perfect complement to the garden. She was just standing in the middle of her plants, observing, paying attention as if listening to music, completely oblivious to everything else around. That’s when I realized how carefully she must plan every little detail, the placement of every little seedling she brings over. How much love she puts into it.
Just like Monet created beauty with his brushes and a canvas, that lady creates beauty with her hands working the dirt and tending her plants. And I am one of the lucky people who can enjoy her art, whenever I feel like it, just a short walk and there I am, in the garden of my dreams!
Bewitching Kitchen 
Gorgeous garden! You should stop and talk to her the next time you see her. I bet she’d be thrilled to know how you feel about her work.
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Already did that 😉
I felt I should ask permission to take pictures before doing so. What an amazing lady she is… I am making a small booklet with the photos and will give it to her.
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Impossible not to fall for your dream garden …. specially if we take a ride on your text. Giving the small booklet to Ms Gardener, I guess, is now a wish of all your visitors.
Congratulations; you are so good at spreading seeds.
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It is nice to have your garden admired.
Two years ago a man showed up at my door. He had a coloured photo of my front garden and a black and white photo copy. He asked if I would label the plants on the photo copy. He had recently purchased a new home and the conditions of the garden were similar to mine. He loved my garden and wanted to plant alot of the same plants as I had.
Needless to say, I was happy to do it, and extremely flattered.
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Well, Sally, these pictures are gorgeous! But is the garden 1/2 mile or 500 meters from your home?
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Well, Steven…. I was hoping this one could get by, but you were really paying attention.
It is exactly 1/2 mile, but the km distance was rounded down for literary purposes
I hope you will forgive me ….. 😉
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EXQUISITE!!! Both photos and text! Sally, you are remarkable in every way! These photos have given a huge beauty-lift to my spirits this morning! And your moqueca sounds fabulous, too! I remember ordering that at a restaurant in the middle of Salvador two years ago, but I’ll bet yours will be better!
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Thank you, Marijo!
I hope you try the moqueca sometime, with or without dende 😉
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What a beautiful garden—and your photos are stunning. the gardener will be thrilled with your gift book.
I’m a member from the old Gail’s and now Finer Kitchens. So glad to have found you. Here is a link to a picture of my Alaska garden this summer. http://finerkitchens.com/swap/forum1/125045_Happy_Summer_everyone__and_a_gardening_question
I used to live in OK too—Okarche.
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