This post is a few days late. But then, so was my gift.

Since I’m both a mother and a father to the kids, my gift for the year can fall on either holiday. The same goes for the wife*. So I’ve started calling them both Mather’s Day.

Anyway, over the past year we’ve discovered I can’t eat a single tomato product that has been in a can or a jar. Nothing that’s been preserved in the usual methods, which we at this point assume it apple cider vinegar since that falls in like with my known allergies. I have confirmed that I’m not allergic to fresh tomatoes in the slightest. So it has to be in the preservation methods. That said, Robin* can make basically any tomato product you can think of, from scratch. That said, that takes a LOT of tomatoes. So…

*My spouse of 17 years is now officially my wife, they use they/them or she/er pronouns, and their chosen name is Robin.

I was sent to the garden center to buy the means to grow our own tomatoes. Meet my new children!

The three on the left are Roma tomatoes. The big girl on the right is a cherry tomato. We won’t cook with the cherry tomatoes unless we pull them for salads and such. They are meant to be a snack, fresh from the plant, warmed by the sun.

Here is a close up of my cherry tomato baby. I bought her exactly like this so she’d be ready to go asap.

I was lucky enough to find one that is already starting to grow fruit! My cashier was super excited for me when she saw them growing.

Plus, judging by these flowers, there are plenty more tomatoes to come and soon!

Here is a close up of one of my three Roma tomato plants. As you can see, it has a ways to grow. But I found 3 that look super healthy so I have hope for plenty of fresh tomatoes to come!

Now for a confession.

I was sent for tomato plants and pots and such. But in my defense, I was my own and only adult supervision in the garden center. And well, it’s known how I am.

Meet my surprise rose. The true surprise isn’t that I bought her. The true surprise is that I bought only one. Which, fair. I guess I am predictable in my love of plants.

Though the reason I only bought one is that I also have a hibiscus bush and a lilac bush on the way.

In my defense, I’ve been planning and plotting that hibiscus bush for a solid year now, but for some reason keep talking myself out of it. And there was never a good reason to talk myself out of it. It was like 15$ and I know where exactly to put it.

But

When Robin wandered into the room and I told them about the hibiscus, they mused allowed that someday they were going to buy a lilac bush because they have always wanted one. And what was I supposed to do? I’m helpless to the longing of a pretty girl! So I had them pick one out, which was also inexpensive, and I added it to the order and that was all she wrote.

Photos to come, I’m sure. But like my new rose, they are coming in with bare roots. It’ll take them a bit to really grow and flower and flourish.