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My mother was the gardener, not me. She had a green thumb, I had a black one. Or red. Whatever color spells death to plants. Sure I would never be up to scratch after going to college and killing every house plant I was gifted over the years, I gave up any dream of gardening and put it in the basket labeled “lost.”
Fast forward several years and I was starting a new job as “house mom” over a group home for single teen mothers and their children. It was a beautiful program of women trying to finish school and be good parents who needed some support to make their dreams happen. I believed in the program wholeheartedly and jumped in with both feet.
Only problem? The house came with almost an acre of land including a massive garden that they wanted me to upkeep as a fun activity with the girls. Um, what?
Though intimidated and positive that failure was inevitable, my OCD personality was not going to slack on this task. I would give it a real go.
And something wonderful happened. The garden grew. By year one I was eating lettuce, beans, tomatoes, sweet potatoes the size of my head, all from my own garden. Me. Black-red-thumb-kills-the-unkillable-house-plant-me.
Was it magic? Maybe. I like to think not.
I learned in that season something that may be an unpopular opinion for the introvert gardener. Community helps a lot when it comes to gardening. We had a friend come out to explain soil and plan the layout for our box garden setup. The other house mentor and I went on Home Depot and nursery runs for seeds and plants. I called my mom when something was eating all my spinach.
I was willing to put in the work, but I needed advice. I needed to know I wasn’t alone if this whole thing failed. And some of it did. Some seeds never sprouted even though all conditions seemed right. Weeds never stopped being a battle. But the successes were all the sweeter.
So come on this journey with me. I’ll big-sis you the way I was big-sissed. Let’s talk cucumbers, pests, soil, seeds vs plants and tomato varieties. I can’t wait!
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