A fellow gardener sent me this story and I just loved it. It shows so much of the FUN of gardening – how gardening can even change a person. Enjoy the read!
Yes, gardening IS fun. I have a friend in Michigan who said she could not be LESS interested in gardening and actually starts laughing when I try to talk about mine… as in “Helloooo…you’re speaking to the ANTI-Gardener here.”
Well, she bought a home a year ago and we flew down for a week’s visit to help her paint the exterior shutters, the front deck, the entry, and to do some repairs which really brightened up the house. But then I went into secret operation mode: dug out a weed infested flower bed that ran half the front length of her house, divided up three sad perennials that still lived there, went to home depot and loaded a car up with delphiniums, lilies, creeping phlox, hostas and the like, in shades of pink white blue and purple. I transplanted and mulched the lot, pruned her overgrown landscaping trees, and even snuck in a tomato plant on the other side – INSTANT color, and suddenly the house and front yard looked AMAZING.
Now the reason “I” am laughing now is because I got a phone call from her yesterday and she is telling me that she somehow finds a need to go out there every day now and check on how everything is doing, pull a few weeds, and check the soil and water if things seem a tad dry. When I asked her how she felt while doing that she said “relaxed, even after pulling a 10 hour shift… I feel calm and seem to have the energy to go take care of other things now instead of just collapsing into a chair.”
“AHA!!! GOTCHA!!!” I said. “You are now a gardener and now you know WHY people are gardeners”…long pause… and then she said: “Wow, I used to think you were a little crazed when you kept going ON about YOUR garden but now, well I see what you mean: it’s FUN. I can hardly wait to see what the tomato will do now.”
Star
“And the Lord God planted a garden in Eden from the east, and He placed there the man whom He had formed.” Genesis 2:8
There is nothing
more natural
for humans than
gardening!
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This afternoon I went out and checked on my plants . I had never thought of gardening like this. She is right.
Isn’t she! I find gardening very refreshing too!
Oh, Anna, I love that story! When I was growing up we had a huge garden and I vowed that I would never have a garden and would buy all my groceries from the store and hire landscapers to “do” my yard. I was so ignorant! And I did just that until I turned 30 and then the gardening bug hit me and I wanted to kick myself for not paying attention to my mom and grandma all those years ago.
I want the author of the story to come to my house! 🙂
It looks like my teens are making this vows too. Glad you got back to gardening. Yes, to have Star in the garden would be great.
Star, you have truly ‘planted a seed’ in your friend! She was bit by the gardening bug. I love the fact that you are talking about flower gardening because that is my kind of gardening too! I agree with your friend, strolling through the garden is very relaxing at the end of the day.
It is! And next time you garden your flowers, just put an addable plant in it too, and it will bite you even more ;).
Great post, Anna! (FYI, I now have tomatoes AND petite red potatoes planted right now!) Oh boy!!!
So glad to hear this! Kirsten the gardener!
What a great story! Gardening is addictive, isn’t it?
Thanks for linking pp to Green Thumb Thursday. I hope you’ll stop back again this week!
~L