Friday 4 September 2009

An Obsession

Since starting to grow our own vegetables I find it increasingly difficult to walk past fields without discovering what is growing there. I compare the quality of the crop with our own and find it very frustrating when I cannot identify what is growing. Walking back to the car from Heartwood Forest last weekend I could glimpse the lands of a local nursery through the trees. I was straining to see the crops, stretching and twisting my neck to get an extra glimpse. But my obsession goes further than this. I am now drawn to any plant that looks like vegetables. While we were in Norfolk we visited Fairhaven Woodland and Water Garden. This private Garden contains numerous rare and beautiful plants, but I found myself imagining I was walking through a Giant's vegetable patch, turning the Gunnera Manicata into Giant Rhubarb or Squash. Other giant leaves I cannot name resembled spinach and carrot leaves. Garden Girl loved the idea as we wandered paths, careful not to be trodden on by giant shoes and hiding under tree canopies to protect our heads.

I see vegetables growing everywhere and I notice things growing in the hedgerows and local parks far more. I am re-educating myself on the names of different trees and flowers that I must have known as a child but haveforgotton in adulthood. With two sets of eager ears to pass the information on to, I am having fun as I learn. When we started planting in April I would never have guessed at how much the garden would spread itself into other parts of our life. My good friend Zooarchaeologist warned me way back at the beginning of year that the garden would become an obsession and she was right. The garden is an obsession, not just for me, but for the whole family. Long may it continue.

3 comments:

  1. Gardeners are mostly obsessed with greens, I tend to agree. ~bangchik

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  2. I think you are right, our children revive our curiosity about the natural world, and our own inner child! Gardening is an early and positive way that we can influence our surroundings and enjoy being out in the sunlight and fresh air.

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  3. I can't pass a field without checking what's growing there either. I think alot of gardener's are obsessed, mainly because they have a passion rather than a hobby.

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