How a friend tended my spirit as she taught me about gardening.
I say I’m a self-taught gardener, but that is incorrect. I first fell in love with gardening when visiting a neighbor’s garden. My friend Glennis gave me my first gardening lessons.
Seemingly a strong independent person, the truth is I was an injured bird, not raised but grown up in poverty. I hid a deep reservoir of pain from abandonment and various tortures. Having no interest in pity for myself, I kept busy and found joy in my child and the things I could learn and do.
But injured birds are fragile.
It was over 50 years ago. I hadn’t…
Jealousy gave this youth immortality as the fragrant hyacinth.
Early in the spring, I used to stroll along the path in the woods by the river and there I’d find a profusion of purple flowers. Among those blooms grew hyacinth. The fragrance told me he was there.
Following the sweetness, I’d see him standing boldly in his purple attire. Deer walked this path just minutes before and I sat by their prints on the earth and grass, wondering if they loved the smell as much as I did.
Running my hands through the leaves, I plucked a few stems. Not many. …
GARDEN HUMOR
Take this quiz — for answers, turn your computer upside down
It’s late Spring and the snow’s gone. It’s time to get out there and grow some food. You’ve been reading and watching YouTube videos. You’ve talked to friends and family. You’re ready!
But are you?
Do you really understand the finer points? Let’s see how your knowledge stacks up against experienced gardeners.
Garden Quiz
Use a separate sheet of paper for your answers. Gardening is analog so we want to enhance your understanding of hand-to-dirt systems.
- What do you do if you find a piece of plastic in the mulch you just spread on your garden?
- If you spray an attacking killer…
