I've turned to WikiHow to offer advice on my deck garden. Specifically, the article How to Grow a Tomato Plant.

I didn't find it that helpful. Well, it might be helpful if I were growing more plants in an actual yard, rather than just a few plants in some too-small deck boxes. I think my dreams of a summer of sweet, vine-ripened tomatoes has been a bit of an over-reach on my part. I still have high-hopes for the beefsteak, though. It already has a few flowers on it. Of course, I have several tomatoes in the fridge right now that I've yet to eat. Why is it so hard to get fresh veg into my daily diet? (If you answered laziness, you'd be right!)

I walked over to the local hardware store today. Lots of interesting things there. I picked up a book on the history of Midtown ('cause that's the kind of thing one usually acquires from one's local hardware store), a wire frame that was supposed to hold one of the flower boxes on the deck railing (way too small, however, so back it goes tomorrow), one tomato cage, 3 stakes, and one role of garden tape. I don't know how to set up the cages and stakes, nore do I know if they'll be big enough, too big, or if the plants will even live that long to need any of it anyway.

Other deck garden developments include: a few sprouts popping up in the sunflower mystery box (don't recall what I chucked in, we'll see what comes out!); the yellow daisy-like flowering bush still looks a bit scrawny; I cut some of the ranunculus blossoms to enjoy inside and now it isn't looking so hot; I planted some pansies in the remaining, light avocado colored box, plus two extras that wouldn't fit in a silver planter I've had forever.

Indoors, I finally planted the little Pottery Barn pots with basil, lavender, and sunflower seeds. I didn't exactly mark them, however, so I have 4 semi-mysterious containers in the kitchen window. Two have tiny green sprouts pushing up through the soil. Two have . . . a whole lot of nothing. I have no idea what to do with them once they grow bigger. If they grow bigger.

So this is what I do now: I fake gardening and I walk around town. And I'm occasionally funny.

I like the warmer weather, that's for sure.

The gardening I blame solely on loving an Englishman with green-thumbed relatives.