Whenever Gordon’s dad talks about gardening, he talks about Crockett’s Victory Garden. As far as Paul is concerned and as evidenced by successful decades of gardening, Crockett’s is the final word in how, when, and what to plant. So Gordon grew up looking at Crockett’s book and dreaming of a garden of his own. When we finally moved out of our tiny basement apartment and into a house with plenty of yard, he went to work buying his own copy of Crockett’s book and looking everywhere for the episodes of the TV show by the same name.

I suppose every story needs a villain, and Gordon found one in WGBH Boston. When he couldn’t find the old episodes anywhere else, he called the station to see if there was any way to access them or purchase a copy. WGBH explained that they had no intention of ever airing the episodes again, nor would they sell him a copy. They were locked up in a vault, there to remain.

Gordon was not pleased. This man was a hero of his, and he thought he and other aspiring gardeners should have access to his knowledge and demonstrations. And so Gordon’s Victory Garden was born. We had Crockett’s book, a big patch of lawn to turn into a garden, and the giddy ambition of two aspiring gardeners who had little idea of what they were doing and no experience. In short, we were ready to do something crazy.

We figure if Crockett can turn the WGBH parking lot into a thriving garden, he can help us do the same to our lawn. We’ll follow his advice month to month, take lots of pictures, and document our triumphs and failures. Victory Garden here we come!