garden

When the garden was abandoned, I thought, "Oh man, what a bummer." The neglected garden invites animals. I didn't realize Washington has so many wild animals that are not political. You just sort of assume a modern metropolis has its deer population under control. I did see packs of raccoons at Legion of Honor in San Francisco but that was because somebody was feeding them raw chicken, and now all over the place, and rats too, but those don't count. Foxes. Insects. Then armadillos and snakes attracted to the insects and the availability of ripening, rotting, vegetables and overgrown berries, and greens. 

I knew she didn't care about that garden. I knew it. 

I knew she couldn't pull it off without a full staff. 

But I didn't realize it was so fake as an interdepartmental thing. Fresh adult plants plugged into any faltering spot so that 

Mature plants are routinely socked into the beds to keep the garden looking lush and full.  These are grown in a National Park Service greenhouse that East Wing aides only half-jokingly refer to as "top secret," or donated by a certain local farmer who has offered growing advice.  
Before the shutdown, brown and yellow leaves were immediately whisked away.  Diseased or bug-infested plants were removed rather than treated.  Exactly one year ago, Mrs. Obama's garden was a pristine tableau for the annual Fall Gardens & Grounds Tour, as can be seen in the photo, above, taken on Oct. 14, 2012. 
In addition to being used for Let's Move! and feeding the First Family, the Kitchen Garden is also used to feed Heads of State and royalty, at State Dinners and other high-profile events.  It is also visible to the thousands of tourists who flock to the South Lawn fenceline each week, to photograph the mansion.  Thus its meticulous maintenance.
But in shutdown mode, the Kitchen Garden is looking very different.
The tomato plants are now an impressive tangle of browning vines, with ripe Sungolds littering the ground beneath.  
Yellow and brown leaves now remain on crops throughout the garden, including on the potted dwarf papaya tree that sits on one side, now boasting five big green papayas.  

Too bad, so sad. I read all that as, didn't have enough interest to keep it up and now I can politicize my own garden and blame Republicans. The whole Obama Foodorama site presently is: 

Shutdown

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I am unmoved. 

I had hopes and dreams for that garden, I did, what a fine example, I thought, as I resisted my resentment of Michelle Obama intrusion into my television refuges from politics. There she was! Damnit, eeew I don't like when Food Network devoted programming to her fake-ass garden. *click*

The national garden -- is it? -- another thing ruined unnecessarily and unnecessarily dramatically. 

My own gardens are more modest than that. My own efforts a bit messy. 

I had a moment with the woman who owns the aquarium shop in Englewood all to myself, that is rare,  she usually is busy bustling around, putting on miles back and forth, taking calls, seeing to customers, but not this day, and I asked her if she is familiar with Takashi Amano. She thought for a second and said,

"I'm not sure about that but I bet I can guess. He's that guy who is fussy, innit'e." 

That one word, "fussy," changed my whole attitude about my aquarium on the spot. Just like that. I had it wrong all along. She's right. That describes him and it describes his thing perfectly. I realized right then I needed to stick my hands in there and fuss fuss fuss away. That's the whole point of it. The whole fun of it. Being a fuss-bucket over the plants. Suddenly I saw that is the way to go. 

))) schwing((( attitude change  oooooooooommmmm ….. ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)

They are invasive. Most species are. They intrude on one another, grow right straight up to the surface and curve over and bloom.  All that must be cut back. I decided water must flow freely throughout and especially across the top. Pathways of free current opened for fish to pass from one side to another and all around. The plants tend to cover the surface and halt the rippling surface movement  that brings oxygen into the water when the lights are shut off. During the day the plants are cranking that out. 

They're crowded and so thick that the fish cannot swim into them or through them. Thinned out they provide areas for fish to take up, to hide, and to entice other fish to come in.  The plants invade each other's space aggressively in an attempt to dominate the whole thing and hog the light and take over. They are all rampant and they must be pulled out. Cut one day, at the surface again three days later. It grows like kudzu. Any twice-a week trimming and thinning will remove more than retained. 

I promise, aquarium, I will never politicize you. The fish however, are all public school, and no negotiating on that.