Growing in My Garden

"If seeds in the black earth can turn into suchthere.*Gardening allows me to forget the troubles
beautiful roses, what might not the heart of manof my everyday world
become in its long journey toward the stars?" G.K.and become immersed into creating something
ChestertonI woke up today with achy musclesof beauty. Gardening
and hamstrings that feltallows me, as I mindlessly pull weeds, arrange
stretched to the max. Too much time at thepotting soil into
gym? Too many milescontainers, and pat dirt gently around freshly
on my bike?Nope. Just lots and lots ofplanted flowers,
gardening.This week I joined hundreds of othersto sift my thoughts through a filter energized by
who, pulled by Springsunshine and
Fever, sunshine, and fresh air, flocked tofresh air. It gives me the freedom to enjoy the
nurseries and gardenwild songs of the birds, the bubbling of the
centers in search of the perfect annuals, shrubs,brook....and the humming of the
planters, andlawnmower of a neighbor I hadn't previously
garden ornaments. And boy oh boy, did we findrecognized.Gardening forces me out of my
them. We came incomfort zone behind the computer
droves, fellow gardeners and I, driving way tooscreen at which I stare seven days a week, and
many miles ininto the world of
this gasoline-crisis-environment of ours, lookingperennials and annuals, the names, sunlight
for the bestrequirements, and
prices, the best selection, and the bestbloom cycles which continue to escape my
accessories.And you know what I mean bymemory. It forces me to
garden accessories, right? It's aget my hands and fingernails dirty (I hate
business reaction as befitting this gardeningwearing gloves) and
frenzy as hot dogcelebrate the tactile pleasure of running damp soil
buns are to hot dogs. And we're not just talkingthrough my
planters,palms and pressing it into the earth. Gardening
birdhouses, and birdbaths anymore, either. We'restretches me. It
talking benches, arches, baker's racks, shutters,helps to illuminate my innermost thoughts. It
statues, sundials...with bunnies and roosters in allforces me out of
shapes and sizes to boot. Do you want those inthe cerebral nature of the work that I do, and
bronze, black or antique white? Distressed? Shiny?pushes me into the physical nature of work in
Whatever your fancy, they're yours for thewhich I feel so incompetent.As we celebrate
buying.And buying them we are. What withSpring....and fight the Fever together...engage
cocooning becoming the "in"in work of your hands by working the earth
lifestyle of the 90's, it's no wonder that we'vebeneath your feet.
attacked ourAllow yourself to become intoxicated by the
yards with passion. And our wallets. Americansbeauty and aroma of
spend just underflowers. For as it was so aptly said in the TV
$40 billion-yes, that's a "b"-on lawn care annually,show A Gardener's
according to the National Gardening Association.Dairy: "What grows in the garden, so lovely and
And the annual rate of growth in the industry hasrare? Roses and
been at 8% for the last five years. In fact, eightDahlias and people grow there." Yes. People grow
out of ten households in the U.S. activelyin gardens.
participate in indoor and outdoor lawn and gardenRobert Ingersolll wrote: "Every flower about a
activities of the do-it-yourself nature in one wayhouse certifies to the refinement of somebody.
or another, a degree equal to the highest level ofEvery vine climbing and blossoming tells of love
participation in the last five years. Sales of bulbsand joy."And growing in love and joy is, after all,
to consumers have nearly doubled within the pastwhat growing in one's
five years, too. And retail sales of floral productsgarden is all about.*Note: Mike Steven, Lecturer in
come in around $13 billion.We can hardly helpLandscape Studies, University of
ourselves. Researcher Mike Steven establishedWesten Sydney, AustraliaCarolina Fernandez
in a research project in Australia entitled "Theearned an M.B.A. and worked at IBM and as a
Congruentstockbroker at Merrill Lynch before coming home
Garden: An Investigation into the Role of theto work as a wife and mother of four. She totally
Domestic Garden inre-invented herself along the way. Strong
Satisfying Fundamental Human Needs," thatconvictions were born about the role of the arts
gardens have thein child development; ten years of homeschooling
potential to satisfy nine basic human needs,and raising four kids provide fertile soil for devising
including, increative parenting strategies. These are played
addition to subsistence, affection and creation,out in ROCKET MOM! 7 Strategies To Blast You
which resonateInto Brilliance. It is widely available online, in
most closely with my own experiencebookstores or through 888-476-2493.