Happy Father's Day

Dad is manning the grill

Father's Day for the gardening Dad means gifts of plants, a nice shovel or trowel, or, most importantly, spending time gardening side by side with his kids. My dad was not a gardener until he got a tractor with a backhoe that he used to dig up the out-of-control forsythia. He helped me plant a tiny nursery of shrubs I would use for some light landscaping jobs. Truth be told, he'd rather have tools to work on his Fords and Alfa Romeos. 

Dad would rather work on his cars

On the other hand, my former father-in-law, Max, spent a lot of his free time in the garden. A German immigrant, he purchased his home in Cockeysville with his wife, Eloise, where they raised two wonderful children, Maria and David. Max passed his passion for gardening to his son, who enjoyed vegetable gardening just as his dad had. David found his way to growing wonderful crops of tomatoes, peppers, beans, and other vegetables and flowers in his gardens. 

David is harvesting early lettuce

One day's tomato harvest

Another dad who relished his time in the garden was my late boss, Bill Foard. His tomato gardens are legendary. He would have me and other Valley View Farms' staff over to see his garden. Billy was very transparent; while he was the most successful farmer-turned-backyard gardener that I'll ever know, he wasn't shy about showing us the challenges he faced in growing perfect tomatoes. He and his daughter, Lisa, spent time canning the tomatoes for their almost-famous Bloody Mary mix, a prized gift to family and friends. Billy brought in buckets of his vine-grown tomatoes to be shared by his Valley View Farms family. 

Billy's garden in mid-July

Bill passed his knowledge of gardens to 
his children and the Valley View Farms family


To all the gardening and non-gardening dads out there, Happy Father's Day!!!