In my home, it is with sugar and spice, and everything nice, as it is grown by my one and only, who is all of those things to me.

When our quarantine stay-at-home started I pushed a request I had asked of Gary for months: please, oh please, can we try to plant a garden. We moved to a new home on the island with an amazing interior lanai ideal for a garden in October, just in time for high season on the Big Island.

We spent the next few months working 12 hour days, welcoming visitors to our island with our part-time/full-time jobs.

The pandemic hit and furloughs happened, and all of a sudden, we have all this time. And, what do you know, it’s spring, the perfect time to plant. (I kept saying anytime was a perfect time as we live on a tropical island, right by the coast…but I played along saying yes, we will plant in the spring.)

We are surrounded by flowers, so I wanted our garden to be filled with herbs and lettuces, tomatoes and peppers, all the things we enjoy every day that I knew would taste so much better out of our garden.

With a few trips to Home Depot, deemed essential on the island, thankfully, Gary began to plant, feed and prune, and baby our little plants. Within days they had sprouted, within a few weeks we had growth, and a month we were able to begin to harvest and use.

Last night we enjoyed our first salad prepared with everything from our little garden (including a lemon vinaigrette made with the lemonade lemons from the tree we have been growing for the past three years.)

We did add tomato and cucumber from our friends at Kawamata Farms, and some Big Island goat cheese as well, keeping everything very local.

After our first bite, paired with a crisp, briny, and lemony Albarino, we looked at each other and smiled. Mission accomplished. I can’t wait to see what happens to our baby plants over the next few months, and seasons. So, if you have been itching to get your garden started, don’t wait another minute. Go to your local home store and buy some seeds or baby plants and get growing! It is easier than you think, and the results are as satisfying mentally as they are delicious!

And, my Gary, thank you for being my sugar, spice, and everything nice. You are turning out to be quite the gardener.