“Everything you need is there inside a seed”. That is the little song I wrote for our Season 1 episode that features a trip to Miss Linette’s greenhouse.
What a great gift- learning to appreciate the ‘seed’-in a physical sense and in a spiritual sense. The wonder of the seed, the nurturing, and the reaping of the fruit or flower is yet another gift that my mother gave us growing up. As long as I can recall, there were seeds, plants, flowers, vegetables, and all the diligence, grace and love that go along with them.
There were little trays, mostly made of recycles, egg cartons, plastic containers, etc in an area in our basement . Then there were the lights over the containers. This part of the process took place through each winter. She would plant vegetables, flowers, herbs and we would watch them grow under those lights. When the days were warmer and those little plants were bigger, we transplanted them outside to our enormous garden. It seems like that plot of earth was half of the backyard. My father would till the earth inside the garden and roll in the compost that we had in a mound on the side of the garden. Funny, looking back, everyone thought my mother crazy for that heap of ‘garbage’ she would keep by the garden. Now, compost is as common a word as any other.
From the simple and daily tasks that might include getting out of bed and brushing our There were also the flowers my mother would plant outside all around the house in the various beds. Marigolds were her favorite. She liked annuals. You could do annuals back east- tricky here in Colorado.
I recall the many times my father would either get laid off or move to another company and how that would upset the apple cart at home- whether with schedules or money. Looking The months rolled by and the plants in the garden would grow. We would weed, till and watch for slugs and other bugs that might want to eat the plants before we could. Looking back on those times, I think of all the things she taught me through that process that you simply don’t realize while you are experiencing; patience, nurture, process, appreciation, joy, pain and acceptance (especially when a hail storm came along) then the will of rebuilding and starting over. In our fast paced and instant gratification world- what fantastic lessons to learn. I also recall how my father would ‘hold court’ by the garden with the neighbors. There was something so soothing and comforting about seeing my parents and neighbors by the garden, admiring the plants, talking about children and issues of the day. The garden was that safe and gloriously calm space of sharing.
The summer months waned and early autumn meant we got to pick the vegetables and herbs. The tomatoes, peppers, coosa,( a squash from my family members in Lebanon- my mother was a fan of sharing seeds.), beans, peas, zucchini, parsley, basil, onions, scallions and all sorts of lettuce. Abundance beyond our wildest imaginations. I always loved the month of August- when salads and creations were most tasty. Everything came right out of the garden onto your plate. We sure learned to appreciate our meal this way. Prayers over the meal were heartfelt. After all, we had raised that little plant from a seed. Thank you……
The gift of gardening and love of a seed are profound gifts- physically and spiritually. They are gifts my mother gave to me so early in life. Without saying a word- she taught me so much….out of each little seed.
Now, please go plant a seed with your little one and watch it grow. Remind them that they too are like that seed and how much you enjoy the nurturing.
Grateful!
