Tuesday, May 22, 2012

A gardening manifesto: what I believe

I believe....

The garden is a grand place to fly your freak flag high. Like growing wildly colored azaleas in brazen rows? Shearing your hedge to resemble a giant llama? Accenting spent poppy seed pods with hot pink spray paint? You go, gardener. You go.

I believe gardening is an act of rebellion. In our manufactured world of big box stores, packaged meat, and shrink-wrapped vegetables, we gardeners who grow food from our own soil do it ourselves. I revel in being that rebel.

I believe everyone has a green thumb. You just may not know it yet. The belief in yourself and the will to make things grow go hand-in-hand. Coax yourself and coax that seed. It takes care, reflection, thoughtfulness, and patience — things we can all benefit from nurturing in ourselves.

I believe I've always been a gardener...
 Me in the garden, age 3?

Read my entire gardening manifesto in the latest Cultivating Life column over at PQ Monthly.

3 comments:

Zoe said...

That picture! Awesome!

Rosemary said...

A garden is like a diary, it says so much about who we are and what we believe. Love the manifesto!

Anonymous said...

what a great photo, lelo.

and a manifesto we can all live with!