At this wonderful time of the year, it seems incredible there are people who do not have, indeed do not want, a garden.
It doesn't have to be large or time-consuming. You can have a garden in a dish on the dining room table if you wish, but everyone needs a garden in the spring. Something is born in us, or maybe just some of us, that is attracted to the green leaves, the new grass and the colorful daffodils, and calls us to be a part of all this wonderful growth.
There are all kinds of excuses people give for turning their backs on nature's exuberance, and I will herewith demolish some of them. (The excuses, not the people).
"I don't like to get dirty": That is the easiest to do away with. There is a very good product known as Lava Soap that is an instant cure for dirt, and if you will dig your nails into a bar of soap before you get your hands in the soil, the grime will melt away under the tap.
"I don't have time": OK, you sleep for eight hours, work for another eight, spend at least two hours cooking and eating, one in the car on various travel needs, and that leaves you with five hours to read the paper and watch TV.
Couldn't you give up one of those leisure hours to make something wonderful? Like a garden?
"I live in an apartment": All right. Does it have an entrance? A window? A doorway? A porch? If so there are lovely containers to hang, perch, situate or just put down where they will give you a lift every time you go in or out.
Just a small bag of potting soil and a pot, box or basket and you can walk or even run to the nearest source and buy a few plants growing, with the hard part already accomplished for you. All your plants will need is a little sun and occasional watering, and you have a garden!
Do take time to read the helpful labels provided for you. It is a recipe for disappointment to try to grow a sun-loving flower in a dark corner of your living room or to burn up a shade-loving fern on the sunny front steps, but there are helpful people everywhere plants are sold who are trained to help you make wise choices.
"I don't know how": That is a feeble excuse. Libraries and bookstores are filled with helpful books and magazines, and I know you have friends who are dying to help you out of your pitiful situation with more help and advice than you will ever need.
"I don't have a green thumb": No one is born with one. It would be a great concern to the pediatrician if your baby arrived so equipped.
You weren't born with the ability to read, either, but you learned that, didn't you?
"I don't like gardening": How do you know if you haven't tried it? Remember how your mother insisted you just try one bite? And then often you found that you liked it.
If you have an excuse I haven't listed, let me know. And don't try "I am too old." I bet I am older than you.
Janet Del Turco is a local gardener and a graduate of the Ohio State University Master Gardener program. Contact her at janetdelturco@yahoo.com.
