I inherited the gardening gene from my mom’s side of the family. Back when Queens was still the country my maternal grandfather’s family grew vegetables there while the city grew up around them. My mom never really grew vegetables, but her flower arrangements won many a ribbon in the local garden club’s flower shows. She had a big herb garden in one corner of the backyard that was a little wild and overgrown. I spent a lot of time in that garden as a kid, picking big handfuls of spearmint and chives, and plucking honeysuckle flowers off the vines that grew along the back fence. Continue reading →