Excitement in the Garden

This is a picture of my son, picking his first "salad" from the modest garden we planted out back. Can you just feel the excitement radiating out of his beaming smile?? It seems like a meager amount of lettuce leaves but in his world they are gold!

Now contrast this to my Great Uncle pictured below. This man has been gardening for his entire life. He is 92. That's a long time. But as he walked us through his garden on a recent visit, you could sense the pride and joy in his voice as he described this year's crop.

Gardening with kids is inherently very fulfilling. No matter how good a gardener you are or how big of a garden you happen to have, the season is always punctuated by shrieks of laughter and gasps of amazement as worms are found, new sprouts appear, watering cans come out, or the first lettuce leaves are harvested.

When asked if he cans the food or makes any special, he simply replied, "we just eat it". And then went on to say that of course they give some away as well. Our garden is more like a novelty at this point, a sweet little addition to our summer meals. But for many of the older generation, and a growing number of new urban homesteaders, it is a way of life.

Gardening is a lot of work, and my Great Uncle is fortunate enough to have family living close by willing to help tend the garden with him. That's the key right there. Family. Family who understands the tradition and family willing to lend a hand. I absolutely love that he has passed on his knowledge of gardening and his love of the land to his kids. Something I hope to instill in my own children, even if I never end up having the green thumb of my Great Uncle. It's the excitement. The love of connecting to your roots. That's what I hope to pass on. Because if you plant that seed, something good is sure to grow!