Wednesday, November 1, 2017

Okra Plants and Open Doors

I like to recall waking up under a Clemson Spineless Okra plant about 8 years ago as a Master Gardener intern. An unusually cool August morning, a little mist hung over the garden. And while I had driven the 30 minutes from home to Davies Manor it was the mindless kind of drive at the crack of dawn that does not really wake you up all the way. So I found myself on hands and knees, spreading straw under a 'grove' of okra plants and waking to the beauty of plants and nature and gardening and even life itself.
I also waked to the realization that the handful of tots, whom I had birthed, were almost fully capable adults. Over the last 25 years, I had worked myself out of that happy job; and there in that shady nook of the world the possibilities were without limit. Privileged to have been accepted into the Master Gardener program, I felt the blessing of that morning's work, little knowing the web of opportunity that would follow.
Image result for dixon gallery and gardens lecturesImage result for my big backyardImage result for my big backyard

Attending lectures at the lovely Dixon Gallery and Gardens, and answering the horticulture hotline at the Extension Office, taking 'orders' from seasoned gardeners to prepare a garden for Through Our Garden Gates and teaching children at the Memphis Botanic Garden Harvest Festival about the variety of pumpkins, driving up to Jackson, Tennessee to the Summer Celebration and potting up Ajuga plants for sale at Spring Fling: are just a few of the volunteer and educational opportunities which opened up to me.

The diversity of gardens and gardeners I have met is wider then I could have imagined. Their common threads of helpfulness, encouragement and acceptance have enriched my own garden but most importantly, my life; it is my hope that their goodness has rubbed off even in some small way on me and that I have been of  help to my fellow gardeners. 

Little did I know, all those years ago, tending okra that morning would open the doors to so much opportunity and change my life forever and for the better. 







1 comment:

  1. What a beautifully written blog! Thanks for sharing how much being a Master Gardener has meant to your life! - Chris (MG Coordinator)

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