The city

Ya know I always envision myself living rustically at the side of a lazy river in a two hundred square foot log cabin built by myself. Accompanying me would be my cat, a wood stove and a whole lot of records and books. Gardening would become a full time job, as would hunting and fishing.
But today I got to thinking about the advantages of the city when it comes to gardening. Don't get me wrong, I'm never giving up my pipe dream, but today I witnessed the building of a garden by a good friend of mine out in the town of Lumsden where the building of a fence was a necessary aspect of the plan. Wild animals needed to be kept out of his garden. I have thought about all the advantages of city gardening in the past but today brought them to particular attention.

-Extended growing season. A city is always just a couple degrees warmer than the surrounding area due to all the heat given off by man made creations.

-Less birds to eat your seeds or your berries.

-No deer or rabbits to nibble your precious plants.

-Free compost and mulch everywhere, people are always throwing away grass clippings and bags full of leaves.

-And in my case there are no predators to alleviate me of my hens.

The only real downside is that space is obviously at a premium and that it is hard to get full sunshine on your garden because houses are frequently in the way.

While I may curse living here when the neighbours are tossing fists at three thirty in the morning, I have no problem getting dirty 4 feet from my back step.