I never thought it would happen, but here we were, driving away from our house and garden for the last time, leaving our beloved California, moving to a new state. After friends and neighbors, I suppose what I'll most miss is the dirt. Gardeners will understand.
Good soil is hard to come by, and this neighborhood had good soil to begin with -- what's called sandy loam, easy to dig in yet rich enough to make plants grow big and fast. Weeding and watering were a snap, and we grew a wonderful garden, or actually several, because the landscape changed as our kids grew, and I evolved as a gardener during our 26 years there.
It had been a lima bean field -- the whole of Rancho Park was. I like to think the good soil also had something to do with the pleasant neighborhood that sprouted there. Surrounded by Century City, Westwood, Cheviot Hills and Santa Monica, little Rancho Park was like a small town in the middle of a very big city when we first discovered it. We noticed how many children were outside playing, a very good sign, we thought.
The modest homes, built in 1944 during World War II when copper and steel were rationed, may have been short on wiring and plumbing, but they had handsome oak floors. We like to brag that we raised three kids in that 900-square-foot house with one tiny bathroom and a kitchen smaller than many closets.
Because the houses were small, the lots seemed huge, which left plenty of room for lawns and gardens. I'm sure that's why so many kids were outside playing. Our front lawn was always covered with Star Wars figures and wood blocks, Barbies and plastic ponies.
The back was where we often ate, because the inside dining area was so small. It was also where I gardened. The kids got the front, I got the back. I tacked an office onto the garage, so I could even work in the garden.
And because writing about gardening was my work, I was constantly experimenting and playing. That very good soil made it easy to ruthlessly tear out the old and try the new. I planted one border of fascinating flowers and shrubs, only to take it out a few years later and plant another. I even planted trees and then took them out after they got too big, or I found one I liked better. Because of the soil, lots of things grew much bigger than expected.
