Theres no one size fits all when it comes to gardening in the Santa Cruz Mountains. The medley of microclimates here make for hit-or-miss conditions when planting the season’s garden. At my home, the beautiful and majestic redwoods make for shadier conditions in summer but provide insulation from frost during winter months. Because of this, I have found that I can grow most cruciferous veggies (such as kale, broccoli, and chard) almost year round.

Eager to get started on the year’s spring garden, I planted starters of rainbow chard and triple curled kale in perfect rows and sewed the seeds of french baby carrots and gourmet rainbow beets directly into the soil. I mapped out where my seeds would grow by creating perfectly parallel furrows in my little humble garden. I sprinkled the seeds into the furrows and dreamed that my seeds would soon sprout in rows worthy of a spread in Sunset Magazine.

Little did I know, a terrible rain storm was making its way to the mountains and in just a few days I was off to Florida to visit my sister, leaving the garden tending solely to my husband. He is a wonderful gardener capable of growing heirloom tomatoes the size of soft balls however, he is a very busy man and Im sure my little garden was the last thing on his mind.

With family vacation on the mind, I had placed my little spring garden and any control I had on a back shelf where it collected a weeks worth of dust. I had no control over this storm or the damage it would do to my perfect rows so I sent my worries away and wondered what beautiful mosaic pattern of sprouts I would return to.

Ten days of visiting paradise on the East coast served me well. I packed my bags, took some last minute photos, and was soon on the journey across the country back to my home in California. From 30,000 feet above, I could see the perfectly measured patchwork of farm fields butting up to horizon in the distance. As we approached San Francisco Airport, the land became dotted with buildings and the patchwork of the city soon took the lead role.

My husband swooped me up from baggage claim and off we were, back to our own paradise in the Santa Cruz Mountains. As we drove further away from the city, the tall buildings evolved into 200 foot coastal redwoods. We pulled into the driveway of our quaint home and walked up the 40 steps to the front door.

I was sure that the garden was going to be barren soil having lost every seedling to the storm. I took that last step that offers the front and center view of the garden, I dropped my bags, and was amazed that the garden had held on. There it was, my little spring garden, greeting me home.

Since I was a child I have always been amazed at what a single seed can blossom into. The garden grew and it grew beautifully despite being battered by a storm. Now is harvest time. I also let some chard bolt and harvested the seed for next year’s garden.

These determined little seeds have inspired me. Planting a seed both physically and figuratively can create a transformative change in the world. Have you planted a seed yet?

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