I think I may be a little obsessed with gardening. The title of this one comes from an online conversation with my lovely sister. We were discussing how the kids were all into earning pocket money and the huge rate of inflation that this task would earn compared to when we were kids. My lovely sister suggested we let the kids keep any money they found while cleaning the car, however in this digital age, we very rarely use cash and so the poor kids would end up doing it for free. She suggested we plant some money.
I went off on a huge tangent about how I could get them to sow a coin in a plant pot and then secretly replace it with a tree, to teach them about the value of money, waiting for what you want and then finding out that no, money doesn’t actually grow on trees. I toyed with the idea of attaching more money to the tree once it grew, but to have a decent enough effect I’d have to spend quite a bit of money. My mind fluttered about the place for a while trying to figure out how to make this work, and if in fact I should, as it seemed a bit mean – especially the bit when they lose their initial investment – the seed money.
Then it dawned on me what my lovely sister meant. She meant ‘plant’ as in ‘put’ money in the car for the kids to find as they clean it, not ‘plant’ as in ‘grow.’ Which prompted her to say: “Mmmm gardening is your language ….” To which I replied: “Yup”
Come again soon – a day without gardening makes me quite stir crazy…. I must garden….
Sarah the Gardener : o )
Funny that you grew up together, but don’t speak the same language.
Hi there. My sister is also a gardener, although her urban space is much smaller than mine. I guess I’m just a bit more obsessed!
Cheers Sarah : o )
Do you sell any of your produce at a farmers market? They could always plant seeds and the money from the food they produce can be their reward.
Hi Erin. For the moment we only grow enough to sustain us in veggies all year long, with a few extras to give to others.
I think if the kids started something like that then I’d be the one ending up finishing it, as they seem to be focusing on short term gain. I think I may set them up with washing all my pots reading for the spring. I hate that job.
Cheers Sarah : o )
That is very impressive. All year! I think you are providing your kids with an amazing environment to grow up in.
Thanks Erin.
Lol, that reminded me of the time I excitedly shouted “We’ve got a Leek!”
Poor old Mud, who had planned a few hours working on Ciggy the Land Rover, saw his prescious Land Rover time disappearing to be replaced by essential plumbing repairs and asked me where the ‘leak’ was?
I don’t know whether he was more annoyed or relieved to be pointed in the general direction of the propagators …… 😀
Hi Elaine.
We gardeners seem to have an entirely different language despite speaking English! Which can make the Un-Gardeners in our lives confused and bemused! I don’t think they ‘get’ this gardening thing.
Cheers Sarah : o )
Yup…hooked! ;). At least you have an ungardener husband. When Steve and I got hooked (line and sinker) into horticulture when we were both studying it we had no-one to temper our ardour and we spent every waking hour hunting for plants, collecting seed, grafting, propagating, taking cuttings and 900 potted plants later we are in the unenviable position of wondering what the heck to do with them all as our lifestyle has completely changed!
Hi Fran. I have heard that having two passionate parties can be troublesome, especially if they like to do things in different ways – even to the extent of putting a fence down the middle of the garden. But to have two people keen to get stuck into a big or boring task (although there aren’t many boring ones) would be great. The shared enthusiasm would be enough to get through the task at hand.
Luckily Hubby the Un-Gardener happily does what I ask him to do, without creative license or any grumbling.
You could sell your potted plants at a farmers market or online and make some cash to fund your efforts. Just a thought.
Cheers Sarah : o )
Yes, us gardeners live in a special world.
P.S. But it only took me a scratch of the head, a bit of ruminating and a chew on the nearest piece of straw to know what your sister meant.
Hi Jean. I am beginning to think my gardening obsession is starting to skew the way I look at the world. Luckily it is a happy go lucky, positive view! Gardeners are the nicest people!
Cheers Sarah : o )