I know Beans

I'm taking care of my neighbor’s garden while she’s traveling for the next couple of weeks.

Did you know that gardens actually boost your creativity? I, for one, cannot even look at my neighbor’s plot without wanting to test out my photography skills — I mean, that garden gnome of hers is just aching for a joy ride.

Meanwhile, my gnomeless garden is either all hopped up on organic coffee grounds or has found a way to get a hit of Miracle Grow on the sly.  Those green beans just don’t know when to quit.

Lately, I have eaten more green beans in more ways than I care to mention. I'm starting to think that the bean boys are in league with the zucchini brothers for world domination.

Don’t say you haven’t bean warned.

My garden keeps me humble — I’m being outnumbered and outsmarted by green beans, for peat’s sake. But it has a super bonus feature, as well. It's a great place for me to hone the writing skills I need in the off-season.

Those beans and zucchini? Clearly reminding me that my run-on sentences Must. Be. Stopped.

Flowers? The adjectives and adverbs of the world. A few sprinkled here and there are lovely and add to the pleasure. Too many, and the whole thing is one hot mess.

Corn is pretty persnickety about paragraphs. If you don’t plant it that way, it gets all huffy and refuses to pollinate.

And finally — woe to the lazy gardener/writer. Both kinds of plots require constant weeding/editing to get the good stuff.

And while I’m working the double garden shift this weekend — eyeing that gnome, editing and hacking away at run-on sentences — I’ll also be getting all of the great creative benefits of going green…

uh, bean.

PROMPT: Get in a garden this weekend and get dirty. Then enjoy all of the wonders it is sure to do for your writing, painting, and gnome photography skills.