Gardening is a pastime that brings enjoyment to those who do it AND those who view the results of a gardener’s efforts.  And it’s a pastime we can enjoy for decades!

Spring is the perfect season for sharing the love of gardening with your children, grandchildren, and maybe even your young neighbors.

Dandelions for MommyI wonder if my mother had any idea that she was inspiring a future gardener when she sent me out into the yard as a small child to dig up dandelions.  At the time, this felt like such an important “big girl” job!  Decades later, I realize she was probably just trying to occupy my time and keep me from being bored, but this is my earliest memory of gardening.

Of course, I carefully picked the yellow “flowers” and set them aside to make a bouquet for my mom before digging up the remainders for a bounty of a penny for each dandelion plant.

I couldn’t help thinking about this on Thursday, as I sat in my garden digging up dandelions with a grapefruit knife.  Yes, a grapefruit knife.  The serrated edge and slight curve on the end makes it a perfect tool for this task.  It goes deep into the soil under the plant to loosen the dirt around the dandelion and pull it out, roots and all.  It also works well for those wandering ground covers that sneak outside the borders of a bed and pop up a few feet away in the lawn.

What is your earliest memory of gardening?  Was it something that began in your own yard or did a classroom project inspire you?

As you think about this, consider how you can share the joy of gardening with your children and grandchildren.  They’ll still be thanking you many years from now.

Posted originally to CroftonVillageGardenClub.com

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If you're willing to share your earliest memories of gardening in a comment, could you please click through to It's never too early to introduce your kids to gardening.  My garden club readers just don't "get" the whole idea of commenting on a post, and maybe a few Activerainers could demonstrate to them the value of comments.  LOL.  Thank you!

Copyright 2006-13. Margaret Woda. All rights reserved.

  DISCLAIMER: Information contained in this post is deemed reliable on the date of publication, but it is not guaranteed and it is subject to change without notice.

________________________________________

Margaret Woda, Crofton Realtor


Margaret WodaMargaret Woda, REALTOR & Associate Broker
Long & Foster Real Estate, Inc., 2191 Defense Hwy., Crofton, MD 21114
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13 Comments on What's Your Earliest Memory of Gardening?

APR
07
2012
1,052,401 Points 285 Featured Posts Outside Blog Called Shot Master

Margaret, I think my parents almost always had their own garden with some of the basics, tomatos, peppers and the like.  We helped weed, plant, harvest....although I must say I hated cutting okra during the hot Louisiana summers.  That stuff itches like fiberglass insulation!   Bill
5:25am • #1
646,861 Points 16 Featured Posts Outside Blog Called Shot Master

Good morning Margaret. What a lovely story and beautiful recollection. I remember my Father's vegatable garden on the postage stamp parcel behind our Philadelphia row home. We had great corn, tomatoes and joy.
5:28am • #2
202,823 Points

Going out to weed today. It always amazes me that you can't get grass to grow but weeds will sprout everywhere. Happy gardening!
5:35am • #3
321,258 Points Localism Sponsor Outside Blog

Margaret,

I do not in any way-shape or form have a green thumb.....yet I remember helping my (at the time) future father in law plant his garden......I was the labor.
5:37am • #4
1,223,896 Points 79 Featured Posts Localism Sponsor Attended Rain Camp Called Shot Master

Good morning Margaret,

My mother loved flowers and I grew up on 2 acres in upstate N.Y. Our driveway was lined with Lilac trees, peony bushes, forsythia, rhododendron daffodils, violets..you name it. I use to pick violets and fill little vases. I use to make a corsage for my teaches with a large full rhododendron bloom....ahh the memories..thanks for making me bring them up for a moment this morning :). Happy Easter!!
5:44am • #5
499,369 Points 22 Featured Posts Outside Blog Attended Rain Camp Called Shot Master
My mother was passionate about flowers, and I think my earliest gardening memory was sitting beside her while she taught me how to make hollyhock "dolls". And somewhere along the line, I've grown to love puttering in the garden, too, and sharing that time with my little granddaughter. Passing it along for my mom....
9:08am • #6
823,700 Points 155 Featured Posts Localism Sponsor Outside Blog Hit Router Attended Rain Camp Called Shot Master

I'm pleasantly surprised to see your comments.  The seed truly is planted in us when we're young, isn't it?

Bill and Liz - Okra is something I never experienced in or out of the garden.  LOL.  Do you grow all those veggies now in Ohio?

Sheila - That corn must have taken over your yard behind a row house!  Was it as tall as an elephant's eye?  (as in the musical, Oklahoma?)

Alan - GREAT day for it.  I would have been working on my back yard... but alas, I had to present a contract.

Happy Easter to you, Dorie - Sounds like you had gardening parents! 

Hollyhock "dolls"... I missed that lesson along the way, Nancy.

 
5:45pm • #7
APR
13
2012
975,204 Points 6 Featured Posts Outside Blog Attended Rain Camp Called Shot Master
I somehow missed the entire gardening gene. I am not sure what happened to it but I think people who love gardening have great peace and a cool pastime.
4:51pm • #8
APR
14
2012
328,743 Points 5 Featured Posts Outside Blog

Margaret: Great post.  I remember my grandparents always having a garden and I think neighborhood/community gardens bring so much good for so many reasons.
4:36pm • #9
APR
16
2012
823,700 Points 155 Featured Posts Localism Sponsor Outside Blog Hit Router Attended Rain Camp Called Shot Master

Cheryl, I can identify... I felt totally ignorant about gardening and literally had no interest.  Then a former broker "required" that everyone in the office join a local organization and I drew the straw for garden club.  At first, I felt like a corporate spy who was there for all the wrong reasons, and then I discovered I wasn't as ignorant or as uninterested as I thought.

Donna - New photo!  Very nice.  Yes, I remember my grandmother's roses and azaleas very fondly.
4:17am • #10
MAY
07
2012
166,239 Points 4 Featured Posts Outside Blog Called Shot Master

Love this picture. You know your child is growing up when they no longer think of your lawn's weeds as flowers.
11:26am • #11
MAY
11
2012
299,746 Points 21 Featured Posts Localism Sponsor

My mother was an avid gardener (and still is) I remember most the roses she grew at our house.  Will never forget that smell.  We also had irises, daffodills, lilies, azaleas and I remember a money plant and beautiful marigolds.  Alas . . . I did not inherit this talent from her!
3:38pm • #12
MAY
15
2012
644,818 Points 8 Featured Posts Outside Blog Called Shot Master

Margaret, my earliest memories of gardening is going out to my uncle's house to help him work in his garden. I would help him hold the reins as the horse pulled the plow down each row. My mom and I later in the season would pick the beans. Today, I have my own garden. I chopped weeds in it this morning.
8:15am • #13


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Margaret Woda, Maryland Real Estate & Military Relocation Services

Margaret Woda

Crofton, MD

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Long & Foster Real Estate, Inc., Crofton, MD 21114

Address: 2191 Defense Hwy., #120, Crofton, Bowie, and Davidsonville, MD, 21114

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