The community garden sleeps, so we make resolutions for 2013:

— take time to smell the roses, not beat the clock

— remember my fellow gardener Ralph Persad’s motto: you give you get

— help cut the grass — the Briggs and Stratton motor is the ninth wonder of the world, right behind the Sturmey Archer three-speed hub. Plus, clinical trials have proven that a volunteer community gardener mowing the grass on two dollars worth of gasoline experiences more joy than Steve Jobs got building his $200-milllion super yacht.

— try planting something different and radical — like brussel sprouts

— sharpen my spade and my sense of humour — does anyone know any good gardening jokes? I think that’s how Russell Peters got his start in comedy.

— support the volunteer committee that works hard to run our non-profit community garden at Thorncliffe Park

— leverage my folk carpentry skills to repair one side of my rectangular wooden fence; this means the fence will be whole by 2016 — the same time the Gardiner Expressway is condemned.

— be patient for once and don’t put the tomato plants in too early — NOT!!

— listen to my garden neighbors and share their stories.