connected

Assigned with keeping up my mom’s garden while she was out of town, my kids and I headed into her backyard to see the anticipated jungle. Walking out from the patio, we were greeted by a messy bed of veggies as some of the string-bean tendrils stood out like cowlicks in an otherwise orderly row. As we worked, my son explained the necessity of coaxing the wayward tendrils onto the runners: Left unsupported, the weight of the growing beans would pull the vine to the ground where it would become more vulnerable to pests and its produce would be damaged.