Gardening from the Heart- A Little Family History

I grew up in a family of nine. We were raised in the house my Dad built from a book that was handed to him after WWII. It was titled “Build your dream home for $10,000 or less.” So he did. It had three bedrooms and one bathroom. There wasn’t much money so Mom and Dad grew a garden. I remember we had corn and green beans, carrots and brussels sprouts, egg plant, squash and zucchini. I’m sure we had more than that but that’s all I remember. We had grape vines, strawberries and rhubarb. They planted apple trees, pear, plum, peach and mulberries. Dad even had an orange tree that he would drag in and out of the basement door depending on the weather. We raised chickens, turkeys and rabbits. There were wild blueberries, raspberries and muscadines off our rural street. Dad even made wine out of the dandelions that grew in the field across the drive from our house. So here is where my love for gardening grew. It gives me comfort in a way. It’s quite and peaceful. Almost like a type of meditation.

Gardening a great avenue for you if you are troubled and worried, or just plan exhausted. It can give you relief from all of that -- if only for a moment, or an hour, or a day.