Summer Mondays are not my forte.  Did little gardening today (read: none).  But enjoyed looking out at my little darlins just the same.  I did have a nice moment this morning running into my next door neighbor on the second floor, terraza a terraza.  I asked what she was planting, told her they looked beautiful (and they really do), and was pleased, as I was hearing about all the goodies she’s growing, to learn that she was inspired by my little wooden crate of cucumbers to arrange hers the same.  It was a happy exchange.  As I’ve been gardening more, I’ve been thinking more about neighboring, what it means and how to do it better.  I’ve been a bit of a loner in these Brooklyn waters but, as I mentioned, playing in my front yard has brought out neighbors young  and old, and suddenly I know people, they know me.  I know what’s in their yard and they’re asking what’s in mine (still getting way too frequently the question “what is that?” as to each plant in my little native plant garden — I’m thinking about staging a mock protest by them all with signs shouting “I AM NOT A WEED!”  Since there’s more conversation now growing from my garden, I’m sure I’ll get some of what I consider to be the silly questions – and, yes, there are silly questions. God knows, I ask them all the time.  Stupid answers, on the other hand, I don’t really believe in … there’s offensive, there’s wrong … but there’s not really stupid answers.  That said I invite you to answer today’s …

QUESTION: Has your interaction with your neighbors changed, if at all, by your own gardening?  If so, in what way?  For the better?  For the worse?  If not with your neighbors, how about with friends and family?  Have you ever struggled to have to balance gardening and, well, everything else?  How do you find the time to do gardening and, well, everything else?  What did or did not work for you?  How did you get to being a gardening god/goddess without getting kicked to the curb for blowing too much time, money, everything creating your little kingdom?  Go ahead … gimme the dirt!