My mother-in-law was absolutely taken aback when she stepped into our garden and realised there were no vegetables or fruit growing anywhere.
My wifes parents have always had an allotment. They made the decision to hand it over to us because they simply didnt have the energy or good health to keep up with the gardening any longer. Her grandmother adored tending to the plotshed grow cucumbers, tomatoes, apples, and the like, pickle them, and share little jars with neighbours. All of those duties have now fallen to me.
So now we have a garden of our owna space to fire up the barbecue and unwind on the weekends. There was only one snagI had no desire to toil in the soil, so my wife and I decided to turn the patch into a flower garden instead. We earn enough these days to buy whatever we need at the local market or supermarket. We said goodbye to the veg patch, laid some turf, and now have a spacious lawn.
My mother-in-law could hardly believe her eyes when she visited and saw that not a single tomato or runner bean was in sight. She declared that I was hopeless at keeping a home, good-for-nothing, and claimed I ruin everything I lay my hands on. But recently, when a gentleman called round to see my mother-in-law and asked after her pickles, she fetched a jar of dried flowers and told him thats all that remained of her famous preserves. She went on to suggest he take that jar home for his wife and grandchildren, as the whole business of gardening had become too much for me.
I was honestly stunned by the way my mother-in-law behaved and struggled to keep my composure. Nevertheless, shes now come up with another ideashe wants her own allotment back so she can grow her beloved vegetables again. I genuinely dont know what to do. Wed already arranged everything, and now, instead of a family lawn and a paddling pool for the kids, it seems I might end up with a vegetable patch after allInstead of reacting with frustration, I surprised myself. I arranged for her to visit the allotment office and explained to the manager that the original gardener wanted a small plot backjust enough for some lettuce, tomatoes, and her beloved cucumbers. The look in her eyes when she heard the allotment could be hers again was something Ill never forget: a mixture of relief, gratitude, and triumph.
On weekends now, I drive her to her patch of earth, and sometimes I bring a thermos so we can take tea together while she weeds and waters, fussing over seedlings the way she always did. My wife jokes that peace has returned at last, but what I notice most is the joy these new rhythms have brought: bees drifting lazily over our flowerbeds, jars of pickles returning to the pantry, and the slow forging of something almost like friendship between my mother-in-law and merooted not in duty, but in patience, persistence, and the quiet flourish of life returning, right where its most needed.
