My little foot of earth

window herbs, originally uploaded by sarahlpearse.

Being a converted urbanite, I enjoy living within my concrete walls. I love seeing the street outside of my window. I'm used to hearing sirens, car alarms, and passers-by throughout the night. Madeleine even likes to watch the characters throughout the day.

But sometimes, a girl needs some earth to call her own. My square of earth is my herb garden. My herb garden is one of the best gifts I've ever received from anyone. My boss gave it to me--planted it, created it for me-as a housewarming gift, and its totally changed my life. The tallest stalks are the basil--they scream in Italian "pick me, pick me, so I can grow back even higher and more leafy". On the left, are parsley and thyme. They live side by side in harmony-sometimes conversing about who is better. Thyme knows that it must be stripped from its stem in order to be used. Parsley delights in the fact that its edible just "as is". My parsley is just happy to be off of the garnish line at the local steakhouse. It doesn't get picked very often but it knows it has a crucial spot in the herb world. Behind that, is lavender. The lavender dreams of being ice cream some day. It will be mixed gently with honey and scooped onto the lovliest dishes one day next spring. And last, my sage. The sage is the wisest herb of all-choosing to align itslf with earthy pastas and browned butter. And the last dweller in my garden is my gnome. He was the product of a birthday treasure hunt. He protects the herbs from the often-famished Madeleine, and brings general goodwill to their growing.

My square of earth makes the world make sense sometimes.