IT IS A BUSY DAY IN MY garden.

I applied fertilizer on my squash and planted hyacinth and anemone bulbs. My dahlias, lilies, pansies and tulips are blossoming. My roses are looking good too?my trailing rose is growing. The hard work I?ve put into my orchard has paid off?my apples and grapes are the fruits of my labor.

Things are going well in my vegetable garden, too. My potatoes are growing bigger. I?ve spent hours tilling the soil, measuring serum, ripping seed packets open, transferring pollen, watering plants and removing insects.

But my hands have stayed clean and there?s no soil under my fingernails. And instead of wielding a shovel and clippers, I use my mighty Nintendo DS Lite stylus.

The game I?m playing is ?Gardening Mama,? Majesco Entertainment?s follow-up to the hit DS Lite games ?Cooking Mama? and ?Cooking Mama 2.?

This time, Mama trades in food for flowers so she can teach you the magic and joy of gardening. There?s no slicing and chopping (unless you count lopping off weak shoots and branches). Instead, there?s digging and fertilizing. Your garden is divided into four areas?flower garden, rose garden, fruit orchard and vegetable garden. (Strangely, the strawberries end up in the vegetable garden, I don?t know why.)

You get the chance to take care of your plants with the different members of Mama?s family. The more you garden, the more options you get, the wider the variety of plants you can choose from. You also get alerts on which parts of your garden need tending?say, if new shoots have appeared or if your vegetables are being attacked by worms.

Perform well and you get gifts?fashion items, garden tools, accessories.

You can decorate your garden too?and play with your DS Lite buddies with the multi-player function.

Just like ?Cooking Mama,? ?Gardening Mama? is fun and will keep you occupied for hours.
And the best part? Unlike ?Cooking Mama,? it won?t leave you with a monster of a craving?except maybe for fruit.