Last night we planted Jen’s tomatoes and poppies. Kent enjoys playing in the dirt, and Jen is good at supervising him, so it seems to have turned out quite well.

It’s tempting to turn gardening into a writing metaphor, but it doesn’t lend itself. Pages don’t form like fruit on a vine if you just get enough water and sunlight. Putting words on a page isn’t really like putting roots into soil.

Living things are certainly sources of inspiration. A growing plant could be an apt metaphor for the underlying creative force. That an idea could be like a seed, and blossom in the imagination, is a familiar notion. Writers do need creativity, and sometimes our ideas need to be nurtured. On the other hand, some ideas are like weeds.

Having ideas is not writing, though. Writing as an activity, a process. It’s the work that turns those ideas into meaningful output. Later this summer, Jen will put her tomatoes into recipes. Ideas are ingredients, the author a chef. There, we knew we’d find a good metaphor somewhere in this.

It’s good to get away from your desk now and then, get some dirt under your fingernails. Or, watch from up on the deck while your writing partner gets it under his.