Last summer, my mom's neighbours of 37 years, decided out of the blue to share some of their garlic and tomatoes with my sister, who then shared them with me. I was extremely excited to have a chance to grow Mrs G's garlic as her garden is always beautiful!

While I was away on vacation, I got a message from my sister that for some (as yet) undetermined reason Mrs. G lost her entire crop of garlic... 150 bulbs. She was devastated!! 52 years ago, when she moved to Canada from Italy, she brought three bulbs with her and has grown them every year since, slowly expanding her crop. Who knows how many years they were growing and saving this garlic in Italy before she came.

In another week or so, when my garlic is ready to pick, I am going to be able to return her gift and give her back some of her family garlic so that she can start again! I feel so lucky!! My sister's attempt at growing the garlic was unsuccessful (I suspect because she didn't listen to her big sister and tried to plant it in pots indoors in the spring). We are both successfully growing Mrs. G's Roma tomatoes that I assume came over with her too, and after this experience, I will be sure to save some seed!