Even if she forgets the whole thing in her teens,
later still, when she is grown up and a first garden of her own,
some misty memory of the pleasure of growing things will give her
a headstart over the gardener without any background,
just as children who have spoken a second language,
and forgotten it, can pick it up again in later years.
~Anne Scott-James
from Time Began in a Garden by Emilie Barnes
Did you garden as a child?
Was it even in your thoughts.
I think I have always loved and admired gardens.
When I was in high school I decided to plant a garden.
I cleaned an area, sectioned into four sections,
lined each section with rocks found in the yard,
and planted seeds.
Now because I did it on my own I didn't know
the ground had to be tilled; so the ground was
hard clay. There was little success and
I went on my way disappointed by my results.
It was a pretty rock garden, but no plants.
Now I know after many years the soil must be prepared
to receive the seeds and water must be done regularly.
Oh the rewards when we learn the lessons in life.
That's wonderful that you planted a garden in high school, Marilyn. When I was younger, I helped my dad out in his garden by watering, picking, gathering. He always had a garden, but the first gardens I had were the ones at our first homes. : )
ReplyDelete~Sheri
I always helped my Dad in the garden and then went onto to have a small patch of my own. Supervised gently by Dad, so it was quite successful.
ReplyDeleteOh, what a lovely lovely! ..."the pleasure of growing things"... it really is a secret language of heart! FUN to hear of your firs gardening efforts, Marilyn... even if it ended up being a rock garden. We have to start somewhere. ;) I don't remember gardening much myself, as a child, though my parents at home time had a big vegetable garden, and I do recall some times my sister & I were allowed to help harvest potatoes. Real interest in growing thing, especially flowers, came later in my late teen/early 20's. But I didn't have my own garden until I was married. Growing a portion of my own food is something I've become very passionate about. A wonderful thing about gardening is there's always something to learn, and each year with a garden is uniquely different. It's good for the body, and the brain! :) ((HUGS))
ReplyDeleteWhen I was a child, "garden" meant "vegetable garden," and I didn't at all like shelling peas, snapping beans, etc. (I always wanted my nose to be in a book, shockingly enough.) Now, my sister and I both laugh about how we've changed our tunes completely. We grew up eating fresh, wholesome, organic food and didn't appreciate it. Now, we happily cook and prepare the garden produce our dad is still growing—at 80!
ReplyDeleteI need this beauty now more than you can possibly know. It's perfection.
ReplyDelete