Results tagged “passion” from Joe's Dirt Blog

During a recent interview, I was asked if I had a favorite garden. It was an interesting question but narrowing it down to just one is like trying to name your favorite child. I replied by saying that my favorite garden is always the last one I visited. And frankly, there was some truth to that. I find beauty in every garden I visit and there is always something unique that makes each one a special memory. But the question did get me thinking about what I really do consider some of my favorite things about being in a garden and the passion I have for gardening.

Here are a few of my favorites:

• The smell of healthy soil, along with how it looks and feels
• Compost
• Strolling a garden at sunrise with a cup of coffee
• Strolling a garden at sunset with a glass of wine
• The smell of fresh cut grass, tomato seedlings and the garden after it rains
• The sound that pruners make as they cut
• Hummingbirds and butterflies
• Solitude
• Companionship
• Wonder
• Freshly mulched beds
• Where time stands still
• Where time flies by
• The sound of tree frogs
• The look of sunlight through foliage, especially in the early morning and late in the day
• The juice of a ripe tomato running down my arm
• The look on a child’s face after eating fresh corn from the stalk or sugar snap peas, picked right off the vine
• The scent of fresh herbs on my hands
• Anticipation, serendipity and a new surprise every day
• The lessons of life are found here
• The first sight of daffodils breaking ground in winter
• Dirty clothes, a filthy body, and that “good tired” at the end of the day
• The connection gardeners have with each other and I with the earth
• The resiliency of nature
• The awesomeness of God 

…these are a few of my favorite things. I have more, but what about you?

JL

I must admit, I have a pretty good job. Much of each year is spent traveling to all parts of the country, visiting the most beautiful gardens for the television show I host on PBS. Needless to say, I’ve seen some pretty awesome displays. So I was thinking recently, of all these amazing gardens, which one was most memorable to me?

That would be a hard choice as they are all spectacular for one reason or another. I’ve been to most of the large public gardens and many of the smaller ones. But as far as the most memorable, those massive gardens with a horticultural army to take care of them don’t surpass the small private gardens I have visited. No, they don’t have professional horticulturists on staff, nor do the owners rarely have the time to personally tend to their gardens as much as they would like. But, what always amazes me is what is accomplished in these special places, especially considering the limited resources that most home enthusiasts face.

These are the gardens I most remember. They are typically small and often made even more intimate by breaking up the space into garden rooms. With every turn, there’s a new surprise. These gardeners are passionate about their plants and how they fit into the landscape. Unlike large public gardens, they are an army of one. They eat, drink and fall to sleep thinking about their gardens and how to make them better. They read books and magazines, surf the web, watch gardening shows, attend lectures and join clubs, all for the purposes of absorbing even more horticultural know-how.

These gardens are designed with passion, courage and always with optimism. They’re prepped with the tenacity and vigor that only one so personally vested could muster. And that same person maintains them with meticulous attention to details.  The placement of a new plant is scrutinized for weeks before and after it’s finally put in the ground; another design is always on the drawing board of their mind and few weeds escape detection for very long.

I imagine that if you added up all the hours devoted mentally and physically by these dedicated solo gardeners, they might even rival those of larger public displays. But to me, what is ever apparent in the smaller, private garden is not that it is picture-perfect, as this is not always so. Rather, it is the passion of the person that brought it all together and their pride that shines as bright as the sun on a clear spring morning. These are the most memorable gardens to me.

JL