I’m gifted with a picturesque memory. The images of the sun ripened, red shiny tomatoes, purple plump eggplants and bright orange carrots, from my Mom’s garden, still have a very vivid picture in my head, to this day…
It happened one mid-day back in 1977. I was just six years old. Mom was in the kitchen. More precisely, it was more like a kitchenette for its size barely passes the standard measurements of a kitchen, in the ergonomic sense of it.
An old bungalow, with only one bathroom for the five of us to share, had been our home since Mom and Dad separated. There was no staircase for me to go up to, which made it easy for me to reach the bedroom. The flooring was made of old wood planks. Old wood that had been stripped out of its natural colors, permeated through the house. I remember the marks that the wood grains left on my elbow when I hid under the bed while I played hide and seek with my brother. I remember drawing stick figures with my pencil on the walls which was painted in white however in my head it seemed like white with grayish dirt marks on it. It was our home.
Sliced meat, an ingredient for the dish Mom was preparing for lunch, sat in a glass bowl on top of the kitchen counter. I don’t exactly remember what I was doing at that moment however, I remembered that she stepped out of the house with an empty ceramic bowl in her hand. She came back and the bowl was full of shiny red tomatoes. She put the tomatoes into the sink and went out again, holding the same bowl. This time, she came back with a bowl full of soiled onions. Once again she placed the soiled onions into the sink. The third time she went out and came back with a bowl full of string beans, I could no longer hold my curiosity and asked “Mommy, where are those vegetables coming from?” She lovingly smiled at me and said "It's from my small garden behind the house. I meant to tell you, go and have a look for yourself.” At my age then, I knew what the word garden meant. My teacher in Kindergarten taught us all about it however, I had never actually seen one. I ran towards to the door. Excited, I managed to push the door open all by myself before Mom could reach to help me.
Mom didn’t tell me anything about the garden until that day, it was not in her nature to ask her children to help in the house. I guess it was her way of making us feel that everything was okay.
Reaching the backyard, I was a few feet away from a small plot of land behind our house. I used to feel yucky about it especially when it rained. Rainwater used to turn the soil muddy and mushy but at that moment looking at what my Mom made out of it, I was in awe. The dirt wasn’t mushy at all anymore!
Everything was divided into pretty little groups. A group of reds was the color of the sun-ripened tomatoes; a group of bright orange was the color of the carrots; a group of green was the color of the sting beans; onions like bright green sticks shooting from the ground and a group of something purple which I would later on learn was eggplant. It was the most colorful sight I’ve ever seen. I didn't hear Mom approaching from behind. She touched me on my shoulder and asked “What do you think? Do you like it?” I gazed up at her and said “its beautiful Mommy, it’s like a rainbow.”
I was proud of this magical-like area my Mom had created all by herself. I showed it to my playmates every time they come to play and certain that their Moms couldn’t do the same.
My siblings and I enjoyed a number of vegetable meals from Mom's garden. I began to understand why she had to make the garden. It was her way to cut food costs when Dad left us. Our destiny led us to live in apartments a few years later, where there was no place for my Mom to make another vegetable garden.
I was a sophomore in high school, when Mom managed to get a housing loan through her Social Security benefits. We would finally rid ourselves of renting an apartment in the city and have our own house and lot. I was busy with my schooling and school activities but one day, Mom insisted that all four of us help in tilling the soil so she could start setting her garden again. This time it would be bigger and more organized.
Mom’s garden became famous within the neighborhood. They called her the woman with a green thumb. If our neighbors ran out of tomato, Mom's garden was a quick solution. When the garden was abundant with vegetables, on our main door, I hanged a small signage I made with a white cardboard and marker that says “Fresh Vegetables for Sale
The wood paneled door to the main entrance had been locked. Mom tucked the house key underneath the door mat. The new owner of the house will be coming shortly after we leave. Our belongings, furniture, electronic appliances were packed and loaded on the moving van. We were leaving our beloved house. I couldn’t describe how I felt that day. One last thing I did before joining Mom, my brother and sisters in the taxi was to have one last look at the vegetable garden. There was a slight squeaky sound from the gate as I slowly opened it. I slowly walked towards the plot and stopped when I was in the midst of it. I stood in silence for a few minutes, looking at the vegetable garden. The red sun-ripened tomatoes were ready for picking, the green onion sprouts were jotting out from the soil. I didn’t feel the same this time as I was looking at Mom’s vegetable garden. I left behind a part of myself that day.
It had been almost twenty five years since that day I said goodbye to Mom's garden. She has retired from working and spends her time taking care of my niece and nephews back home. She had no extra cash for savings in her younger years. Every single cent she had she used to support all of us.
The greatest gift I can give my mother is to honor her many years of hard work with a garden of my own. I see an image of me and my Mom picking sun-ripened, red shiny tomatoes from a bountiful vegetable garden behind her house. The house is a two storey property with a design inspired by Spanish architecture. Its window panes have exotic Capiz shells framed within its panel. The window sills have terra cotta flower boxes bursting with colorful Carnations, Roses and Bougainvillea.
This time it will not be an image from my memory but a reality that will take place in the very near future...
