Cultivating garden wisdom

Gardening reveals a lot of truths about the natural world. It teaches the lessons of reward for patience and persistence. And it helps to foster a sage's sense of hope and renewal. I believe it's a way of cultivating wisdom.

Passers-by might be surprised that a retired garden writer lives here. My yard doesn't compare very favorably with those that I've profiled for gardening magazines. I'm almost always a season behind schedule, and weeds have sprung up where I meant to mulch months ago. But like all gardeners, I'm full of hope and I treat my many gardening failures as learning experiences.

Welcome to my seasonal gardening blog. I'll spotlight the gardening issues I'm grappling with in my own yard and I'll share some of the gardening wisdom I've gained by "trowel and error."

February 7, 2010

Peace for All

About 30 years ago, when I was gardening in a narrow raised bed behind my condominium, the man who would become my husband gave me a very thoughtful gift: a subscription to a publication titled Gardens for All. The magazine appealed to the gardening evangelist in me, evoking the kind of egalitarian, agrarian society that Thomas Jefferson envisioned, but on a back yard scale.

I was idealistic back then. To me, 9-1-1 was a high-nitrogen fertilizer, not a date I could never forget. Decades later, I'm still idealistic. I believe that gardening may be our best hope for restoring the environment, and ourselves.

Just a few weeks ago, a friend showed me an article in Verdana that introduced me to a non-profit group, Gardens for Peace. Their mission includes "to use the universal language of the garden to promote peace in the world." Wow. Talk about your gardening evangelists!

So if gardens do in fact promote peace—and I believe that they do—then surely gardens for all will lead to peace for all. That is my hope.

Previous Years' wisdom:

2009

2008

2007

2006

2005