Extreme Gardening! Part II

In the second installment of “Extreme Gardening!” I want to make some preliminary suggestions to get the most out of your garden this summer. I think this is important for several reasons that I will discuss later in this article, many not necessarily related to vegetables.

This series is inspired by the idea that good things can come from seemingly difficult times and how to take action to make the most of these opportunities. I am not being Pollyanna about this. I recognize that this is the hardest time many people have faced in their lives. People have lost their jobs and their homes and sometimes their confidence and mental and physical health. Any of us could find ourselves in this position. But how we perceive and ultimately deal with adversity means the difference between choosing a positive life or settling for a bleaker alternative.

For some of us this might mean living a simpler life and depending on our local community for support, entertainment and networking. A lot of times the simplest of things are the things that make us really happy.

A wise friend of mine asked me the other day “What are the first three really

 happy memories that come to mind?” I came up with a snowball fight when I was 15, standing on top of a small mountain I climbed in Alaska in 1986 and sharing a bottle of wine with a new girlfriend in a pine grove in Massachusetts during a summer rain when I was 17.

For me the point was clear; all these memories are based on things that were simple, free experiences. Furthermore they were tied to things that many of us lose touch with as being central to our happiness: nature, play and simplicity (and maybe the occasional bottle of wine!).

Gardening is something most of us can do that elegantly integrates the basic pleasures of nature, play and simplicity – something that we all could use more of. Here are some suggestions

- PLANT SOME STARTS NOW! It is cheap and easy and deeply satisfying to plant some seeds and follow their growth. In a few weeks you will have a flock of new friends that will need a home. You will then need to get them into the ground. (What are you going to do? Let ‘em die?)
- MAKE CONTACT WITH OTHER GARDENERS! This is probably the best thing about gardening. You can learn from other people, make new friends, trade and exchange plants and network with other like-minded people.
- This suggestion may seem obvious, but it is imperative. START PREPARING YOUR GARDEN! If you don’t break soil and move forward you will find yourself in August peeking over your neighbors fence and maybe crying a little.
- VISUALIZE WHIRLED PEAS or any other favorite vegetable based dish. Keeping your eye on the prize can be a real inspiration for “getting your garden on”. (As an aside I swear I made up that stupid phrase. In the early 1980s I was part of a peace walk and had a habit of word play that often pissed-off other perhaps more serious group members. I also coined the timeless “Give peas a chance”. I never was a very good hippie.)
- MAKE IT FUN! This is really important. You are far more likely to get out and get your garden started if it is fun. 

Personally I like to garden with a clown. He makes me laugh while I am planting and weeding and during harvest time he can juggle potatoes.

In all seriousness I think the most important thing in the success of your garden is making sure you actually start it. I make up for my profound lack of experience with enthusiasm and humbling myself to the questions asking process. This has really improved the quality of my summer life in many of the ways I have described.

Thanks for reading!

Chris Hyde
goodthingsmatter@gmail.com
360-250-1573