The Gift of Experience
BY VIRGIL ADAMS
"Everything we do in life may not relate to the garden, but everything we do in the garden relates to life."
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All of the gardening gifts I have received at Christmas are special. But one has always be extra special. This very special gift is not a new tool or tiller, not a bag of compost or fertilizer, certainly not a new pair of gloves. (You can no more garden with gloves than you can wash your feet with socks on.)
This very special gift is not even something someone gives me. Rather, it is all that happened out there in the back yard during the year. It is that unique combination of happenings, circumstances, and consequences that bonds garden and gardener...that makes us one.
I call it "experience."
No amount of products or gadgets- not even a new John Deere tractor, a gold spading fork, or a bag of pure composted cow manure- could possibly play such an important role in the life of my garden...or in my life. Everything we do in life may not relate to the garden, but everything we do in the garden relates to life.
A gift is like a talent. It must be used if it is to accomplish its purpose. The gift of experience is that way. If I don't learn from it, and apply its lessons, the gift is wasted. I want to use my experiences to be a better gardener and a better person in 2008. That is my Christmas and New Year's wish- and challenge- for you, too.
One of the great blessings of the gift of experience is the opportunity to share your gift with others. That is what gardening- and living- are all about. It is Christmas, and while I can't give you a new tiller or even a common, ordinary rake, I can share what experience has taught me.
First, you (and I) have a good friend down at the courthouse or some other county office building. He or she is the county Extension Service agent. Get to know this person well. Visit his or her office. You'll be amazed at the wealth of manuals, bulletins, leaflets and other information available there. These are not free gifts (you paid for them with your tax dollars), but they will make you a better gardener. I know from personal experience.
Second, sign up for the Master Gardener program (another project of your Extension Service) or join a garden club. You'll benefit from the regular meetings and educational programs, not to mention the opportunity to pick up ideas and tips from your fellow gardeners. And there's always the chance that something you say or bring to the table will help someone else. The food, fun, and fellowship of getting together with kindred souls is a pretty good gift any time of year.
I wish I had the space and time to share my experiences with the birds, bees, bugs, weeds, rabbits, deer, raccoons, neighborhood dogs, droughts, floods, freezes, and a zillion other things that impact the garden- and life.
Ah, experience! It is truly a gift that keeps on giving. It never gets old, and it never wears out. You can't say that for any other gardening gift.
Copyright 2007 The Southern Ledger. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed
