My Garden Interview - Part 4

***i'm currently reading an older garden book titled, "Gardening From The Heart - Why Gardeners Garden" by Carol Olwell. The reason for this book is interesting, because, as she points out, gardening is hard work,

considered pretty much low grade manual labor, and is rarely lucrative -

so why do we do it? She compiles the story of many gardeners who were interviewed for this book. i am barely past the introduction, but i feel compelled to put into words how i myself came to be a gardener, and why....***
continued....

Q: Do you have anything you want others to know about you?

i'm amazed at all the yards in our suburban neighborhoods that have nothing but grass and a couple trees growing in them. My God, at least stick one tomato plant somewhere! Many people i know never go outdoors,

are scared silly of bugs, and we have actually met some who don't know where eggs come from! If they ever had to live off the land to survive, they'd be dead in a hurry! I'm sure even i would have trouble doing that, having been a "city girl" all my life, but i think i'd manage better than they would..

i make it a point to live as simply as i can in our normal American Midwestern life. i have a lot of things to do, but always try to just sit in the garden a few minutes, or walk to the park. If i see a hummingbird and want to stop and watch it, i do. It takes me about 45 minutes for a decent walk in the park, and if i can't find 45 minutes for myself, then i feel something's wrong with my life! i take all the

breaks and lunch hours and vacations i'm entitled to at my job. i feel that all of that is vital to my well-being. All the workaholics i know either have heart disease, or cancer, or diabetes - or have already died!

i try to be as environmentally "careful" as i can, too. i don't know why - i don't have children, so it's not because of my concern for my descendants having clean air to breathe! No, it's just something i feel i have to do for my OWN peace of mind. Don't get me wrong, i have a car, and gas heat, and central air conditioning, and a microwave and a computer - all the luxuries of modern life, but i don't abuse them. We use our central air maybe as

much as two weeks most years, when it's really necessary for sleeping. A lot of acquaintances put their air on the first 80 degree (F) day, and don't turn it off until Autumn! I walk if possible - i don't start the car to drive across the street! If i find a tiny spider in the house, do i call the exterminator? No. Either i gently take it outside, or the cats get it (!), or i leave it - especially in mosquito or gnat season, a couple of spiders in the house is a natural, self sustaining extermination system!

All anyone has to do is THINK a little to improve their lives and the planet.

 

Our current home has about a third of an acre, relatively large for a city lot, but it's conversely not enough and too much for me! One side of me would love several acres of a large, maybe partly wooded lot, but on the other hand, when i get home from an 8 hr workday, a huge area would be daunting! i already have areas that "get away " from me in the summer, mostly because i have my leaf castings to work on now, so even though i work outside, i still can't work ON the outside! My husband does the mowing and weeding (but only the recognizable weeds!), and enjoys the yard when it looks nice, but the work is not out of love, as it is with me. One time i complained to a friend of mine (who is a non

gardener married to a "plant nut" like me) that it would be nice if DH was as passionate about the plants as i was, but she said, "Yes, but then you would always be arguing about what plants to buy, and what location to plant them in, and in what configuration, etc. This way, you can do what you want without another person with different ideas getting

in your way." Well, i thought that was quite the wise thing to say, and ever since then, i don't really wish as much that i had married a horticulturalist !

My Garden Interview - Part 1

***i'm currently reading an older garden book titled, "Gardening From The Heart - Why Gardeners Garden" by Carol Olwell. The reason for this book is interesting, because, as she points out, gardening is hard work,

considered pretty much low grade manual labor, and is rarely lucrative -

so why do we do it? She compiles the story of many gardeners who were interviewed for this book. i am barely past the introduction, but i feel compelled to put into words how i myself came to be a gardener, and why....***

Q: How did you become a gardener?

N: First of all, i need to point out that it was never really a conscious decision to "go forth and garden!"

i never knew my grandparents on my father's side, but i do know they were avid gardeners, so i'm thinking i had it "in my blood", since i sure as heck know it wasn't thru my parents! They didn't even like to be outside! i think Mom took me to the park several times when i was young,

and they liked to sit out on the porch in the evenings in warm weather, and THAT was probably only because we didn't have air conditioning back then, and it was the only way to stay cool! We had a fairly large and swampy back yard- (this is the Black Swamp area, after all) , but except

for some hideous foundation plantings of evergreens, one Poplar tree, one rose bush and one white Spirea, that's all there was in the whole area! Being an only child with few neighbor children, i spent many long

days in that backyard on my own, getting hundreds of mosquito bites and black bare feet from the muddy yard - how i didn't end up with Hepatitis or some '60's equivalent of the West Nile virus is beyond me.

Anyway, we were visiting my uncle's house one summer day, and my cousin and i walked into one of the farm fields surrounding their property. She told me that they knew the owners of the fields, and that they were

allowed to pick some of the produce out of the fields if they wanted (whether that was true or not, i never really knew...Being 12 and very naive, i didn't question it ). She picked a tomato right off the vine

and handed it to me, and actually had to instruct me to eat it right there, as i just looked at it for a second - i had only seen tomatoes in salads before that (yes, i had an extremely sheltered childhood!). When i bit into that beautifully ripe, warm tomato, standing in the middle of

that field, that experience it was so awesome that i had an epiphany of sorts - and actually changed the course of my life! i did not immediately know what to do about this new feeling, but within about 2 years, i had a small vegetable garden plot in our backyard.

i did have somewhat of a social life in my late teens, so of course with other things on my mind, i didn't have as much time to garden. Until after i was married - and for a few years we lived in an apartment, so except for the 40 or so houseplants i acquired, i did not do much gardening. i tried to keep my plot going at my parents' house, but they wanted to stay inside when i was there and expected me to sit inside and visit with them! So that was not feasible for very long.

CONTINUED SOON

Happy Earth Day!

i'm sure this is not big news to you all - it's all over the place! - but today is the 40th celebration of Earth Day!

 Here's my Earth Day message: You don't have to recycle, and compost, and drive a hybrid, and garden organic, and use rechargeable batteries, and reuse 'gray' water, and use flourescent lightbulbs,and plant a tree, and conserve energy and gasolene usage all at the same time - just do SOME of those things! That's the problem. Some of us are really trying, but many more don't do ANYTHING! And the scariest part is, a lot of people don't care! Well, they should- especially if they've had children - they may not care, but their descendants might, don't you think?! If every one of us would just do whatever they could towards conservation, it could really make a difference. And if you're reading my blog, it's more likely than not that you already feel the same way, so today, i think we should all find one or more of those "uncaring" folks and try (tactfully) to convince them a little that, like it or not, we're in this together!
Peace!

First Seed Swap Of 2010 - How It Turned Out

Why do i swap seeds? Partly because i like to get something for relatively nothing - yes, i do a little work to prepare, but i'm still not handing anyone money for what i get. It's also partly for something to do during the "worst" time of the winter; that is - when it's STILL winter, but you want it to be Spring so badly that it's almost a physical pain.

But a day like today reminds me of why i really do it. It's certainly not wanting to crowd into a roomful of people and having to wait several minutes at times just to MOVE 3 feet! It's because of what kind of people they ARE - gardeners! Almost everyone had the same look in their eyes - here we all are(the day after a snowstorm), surrounded by seed packets, seedlings, plants, plant paraphernalia, and although we do know a new season is very near, an event like this reinforces that promise. Did anyone complain about being crowded? No. Everyone was pleasant, considerate and smiling. We were all given paper grocery bags, and as we collected packets, bags or cups of what we wanted and put them into our bags, several of us could be heard commenting that we felt like we were collecting goodies at Halloween!

Didn't take my camera, but this looks close to our swap - just add about 50 more people into this picture!

Because this, 20 days before the first day of Spring, was a happy day for all of us!

Some of my "take" today, laying in a large cast Tobacco leaf i just finished. That package of black radish seed touts, "Popular Snack With Beer and Dips" - although i got nothing against beer, radishes sure wouldn't be my first choice as an accompaniment! i now have seeds of Resurrection Lily, "Rose" and "Cherokee Purple" tomatoes, an "experimental" variety of snap bean, and "Rattlesnake Master" Eryngium. Plus quite a few red Canna rhizomes that i promised i would get for my friend Diana, who is still recovering from cancer treatment, and, as a result, probably hasn't got the best of immune systems and i'm sure wouldn't have wanted to get into a crowd like that!

First Seed Swap Of 2010

As i've whined about before, our area does not host many seed/plant swaps. BUT, there are a few, and this one is a good one! Held in previous years (this is the 6th annual) at the Toledo Botanical Garden at their Conference Center, it has grown enough that it has outgrown the space, and we seed swappers would wait, packed in tight corridors like

livestock (mooooo?) just to have the chance to push and squeeze past other seed hungry citizens to glance at the varied packages of seeds or bulbs or baby Kalanchoes (those would be mine!) and possibly find a little treasure or two. So this year i was happy to find out that they

have expanded quite a bit, and moved the swap to a new location! The Ward Pavilion is very nice - i have been there in the past during their Xmas Craft Bazaar with my cement leaves. Maybe we'll have breathing room this time!

If you are in the Toledo area, stop by! i have copied the particulars below. But, as i have said before, you really should BRING SOMETHING TO SWAP! They will let you pick up some seeds if you don't, but i really think that's inappropriate and inconsiderate! We swappers collect our

own seeds, package them up, write or print up instructions, and transport them there - that's a lot of work! Plus the folks at the Gardens also collect and compile thousands of packets of seeds for our planting pleasure, and volunteers put in a lot of time to coordinate this swap. Even if you're a newbie, there's no reason you can't go to your local hardware or dollar store and grab a few packets of flower or veggie seeds to bring. It's only fair!

One small disclaimer - i am not speaking for the Botanical Gardens - my opinion (about bringing something to swap if you're going to participate) is mine alone. The Gardens advertise this as totally free, i just feel, as someone who has been in a lot of seed and plant swaps, that, really, if you go to a swap, it's not a giveaway - it's a swap!

So here's the poop:

(Please note, the Seed Swap will be held at the Ward Pavilion, Wildwood Metropark and the workshops will be held at Toledo Botanical Garden)

Seed Swap

Saturday, February 27, 2010

12:00 - 3:00 PM

Wildwood Metropark

Ward Pavilion

5100 W. Central Ave.

Toledo, OH 43615

Free and open to the public!

Diversify your garden by exchanging seeds and learning new skills! No

matter your gardening ability, you’ll enjoy the chance to interact with other gardeners, while swapping favorite seeds.

Live entertainment by the Root Cellar String Band and activities for kids!

Workshops

Saturday, February 27, 2010

at Toledo Botanical Garden

10:00 - 11:30AM From Plant to Plate: Easy, Tasty Vegetables to Grow

(TBG Conference Center)

10:00 - 11:30AM All About Gourds (Children’s Ed Building)

10:00 - 11:30AM Bugs & Birds in the Garden (TBG Conference Center)

1:30 - 3:00PM A Creative Approach to Herbal Gardening (Children’s Ed

Building)

1:30 - 3:00PM Troubleshooting Your Vegetable Garden (TBG Conference

Center)

1:30 - 3:00PM Container Gardening (TBG Conference Center)

3:30 - 5:00PM Preserving the Harvest (Children’s Ed Building)

3:30 - 5:00PM Gourmet Vegetables for Fun & Profit (TBG Conference

Center)

3:30 - 5:00PM Raising Chickens (TBG Conference Center)

***

Good Ideas (AKA- Good Old Polish Ingenuity!) :o)

My motto has always been, "If something isn't the way you want it, MAKE it the way you want it!" SO..., when i discovered this cool new product from Pledge (since i have two hair- infested cats!), i had to try it out, and i can tell you that it works GREAT! Much better than any other clothes brush i ever had! So the Pledge  company is on to something here, except for one thing - it's made to be disposable. The instructions even tell you, "Do not try to empty or disassemble disposable sweeper". Of course not.Then you would have no reason to throw it away and shell out ANOTHER 5 - 6 dollars for another one! Plus, what happened to the "greening" of our country? This product has a LOT of plastic to be throwing away every few weeks - NOT acceptable! So this was my solution:

i did try to empty it! Oh, it's made to NOT disassemble-i looked at the bottom and the seams, and if you tried to take it apart, you'd ruin it. But, all I did was to take a razor knife, cut a door in the top area the trapped hair is in, pull out the hair, and tape it back up! Taa-DAA! Good as new!

Well, it's not real pretty, but so what? i just saved five bucks! And i'll continue to save 5 bucks every time i empty it in the future! Even solved the one problem i had with it - i have dry hands, and it would slip out of my hand at times, but the tape is easier to grip - so i just improved it as well!

Hey, Reuse, Reuse, and Recycle, right?!