In My Garden

 

To note that this fruit-bearing vine has

surpassed expectations is to vastly

understate the reality of its presence as

a gift from nature. For this is not a plant

that as a gardener I purposefully laid into

the soil of my garden. It simply appeared.

Surprising me no end at the sight of an

inches-tall tomato plant whose presence

was a puzzle then and remains one now.

I laughed, delighted at its obvious ambition

with a tinge of derision for it was much

too late in the season to amount to anything.

It regarded me unflinchingly and proceeded

to grow apace, aided no doubt by unusual

rain events and ample sun. It stands now

in height equal to my own, with yellow

flowers bursting out here and there. Now

small tomatoes have formed and they

expand their presence daily, miraculously

out-performing any such plant I have ever

grown in the past. Where this plant came

from remains a mystery but that it has

plans to produce fruit and ripen them before

winter's onset has me incredulous yet not

so quick to disparage this time around.