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