Gardening was introduced to me by my grandparents on my moms side of the family. When I had lived in Stockbridge, MA, before the age of 5. I remember my grandmother tending a flowerbed outside her home, and my grandfather taking me with him to garden on a plot somewhere else in town. The "Gardening Bug" really did not hit me to many years later. I had moved with my family to California. I by this time was almost ready or had started in Jr. high school.
My Grandmother and Aunt Vic. had traveled all the way from the state of Massachusetts, on a bus to visit us. Sometime during the visit for a few days my grandmother spoke about (or seemed to have complained about) why the flowerbeds were empty, mostly dry dirt and weeds. As said before, this went on for many days (hint).
One day upon returning from a shopping trip in town, my grandmother handed me a garden hoe. She asked me to undertake the job of pulling up the weeds and to start chopping up the dirt, in a small flowerbed under the dining room window. This went on for at least what seemed about 3 hours. This was only maybe a 2 foot by 5 foot area. My grandmother wanted the soil to be very soft and dug deep. Later while I was loosening the soil up, my grandmother called me in for a snack and something to drink. While I sat and relaxed a bit she pulled out a couple of seed packs out on the table. She then instructed me on how she wanted them planted, and how to care for them. I then returned outside, I planted and watered the seeds into the flowerbed. I had planted marigolds and nasturtiums. Many days had passed in what seemed like a eternity, while I watered and watched over the flowerbed. Later by then my grandmother and my aunt, had left California back home to Massachusetts, and still nothing had sprouted yet. I had just about loss any hope in anything coming out of that patch of ground. Then one day I noticed some new sprigs of life, popping out from the ground I had planted the seeds in. Weeks later there were a great many flowers in bloom, and I could see where all that work had payed off. I now had a spark within me and a new love for growing things.
Later on a weekend I had gotten to talk to my grandmother on the phone to tell her about the flowers and how great it was to grow stuff. Later in the month, I had gotten a letter from my grandmother and a gift of $10.00 (that was a good amount of money for me back then.) I took my my gift and gotten some more garden seed and some bags steer manure (I am sure I also spent some of it on candy too). That summer I had turned my backyard into one huge garden. I had a lot of everything growing I was really happy about it. I had so much stuff I shared with my friends and neighbors on the street. That was a great summer.
My grandmother that gave me the gift of gardening, has passed on. She was a great blessing in my life to have shared her own love of gardening. As a adult I had done some research on my grandmother and her family. I learned of her family having a family crest, which I remember seeing on some plates in her home, and also a small one my mother had in the house. Upon researching the crest, it was given to my great or great great grandfather. This crest was given for feeding an entire town where he lived. He did it by gardening / farming. In the country of Ireland, during a great potato famine he planted all kinds of things. Potatoes were the main crop there, and many farmers there used to grow the same type of potatoes. One of the main types of potatoes were prone to a disease that either rotted or killed the plants. My great or great-great grandfather had grown many different types of potatoes that did not get that disease that the others had gotten with their variety of potatoes. That is how he was able to take care of his family and his town during those dark days of a potato famine.
You just never know what gardening can do for you, or for others. If your not already growing plants, try it, you may like it too. Do it for fun, do it to save on your grocery bills, do it for health, do it to become part of your life and part of your preparedness skills. Gardening does have its rewards. Enjoy.
Thunderhawk001
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