Thursday, May 28, 2009

Grandma's Garden

I have heard that the most common thread among centigenarians is gardening, crediting its ability to relieve stress and connect one's hands to the earth. Papa's grandmother has gardened almost her entire life, and is as strong and sharp a woman as I've ever known--scratch that, strong-er, sharp-er, for sure.

We had the privilege of helping her plant the seeds in her garden at Easter, and harvest their fruits at Memorial Day. In just six weeks, she transformed a mere patch of dirt (albeit perhaps the most fertile patch in Georgia) into a bounty enough to feed her huge family.

Easter Weekend:Memorial Day Weekend:
"Give me odorous at sunrise a garden of beautiful flowers
where I can walk undisturbed."

-Walt Whitman

2 comments:

Liz ~ A Natural Nester said...

What an inspiration! This Spring, I'm co-gardening with my mother in her backyard. We just harvested a huge batch of collards; lots of tomatoes on the way. It's a great way to connect - to both the earth & one another.

Rose said...

Holy smokes! That garden is HUGE!!!

Wistful sigh. Someday I'll have a patch of dirt to grow some veg in...