Pumpkins on a Gate

The title sounds like something on the menu of one of those restaurants where the "ambiance" costs more than the food. You know, the type of restaurants that spring up in touristy areas promoting down home, old fashioned cooking (usually with imported food). But I have to admit, the pumpkined gate gives off an ambiance all of its own without any hype or spin. It's quaint, old-fashioned and charming. It's also totally unplanned and truly did spring up on its own.

A long, long time ago (last spring), Don made new pen for the baby chicks from the three broody hens. He bought a very large and deep storage shelf from work so he turned it on its side, stuck doors on it, made a few air vents and ta-dah! a chook coop! Worked well, too. We kept 24 chooks in that thing. Of course, they were only in it at night, but still it was roomy and airy and sooooo easy to keep clean. Don even put a window in one of the doors for the chicks so they could look out in rainy weather. The only problem was the afternoon sun. Except for right behind the coop, there was no shade at all. So I made a little strip of a lasagna garden by the fence to cut the sun's blistering heat and create some shade. I planted snow peas, sunflowers, corn and nasturtiums. The snow peas and sunflowers never stood a chance. They were planted right by the fence and the chicks ate the young plants as soon as the little plants poked out of the ground. The corn is ragged, having their lower leaves torn and shredded by little curious beaks, but the corn is tall and strong and their yield is good. I suppose there are a couple of nasturtiums in there somewhere, overshadowed by the broad pumpkin leaves.

I never planted pumpkins; they were pop ups from the compost I used. I'm used to having pop ups now. I enjoy them, actually; it's like Nature is adding her own special touch when I plant gardens. Pop ups confirm the co-operation between myself and Nature. So when I noticed the pumpkin plants, I thought, "Oh, that's cute, kind of like a miniature Three Sisters Garden." Pumpkin plants by nature are a curious lot, always exploring. They grow and stretch and stretch. These found a gate that was beside the pen and started growing through and up and over it. The gate is sturdy and strong and I knew the pumpkins wouldn't wreck it, well not much anyhow. I think it looks really interesting. I can't wait to see what it looks like once the pumpkins turn orange.