In the beginning.....

Possibly my second blog should of been my first?

Ah what the heck, stories are never that interesting in any logical order anyways.

For this installment I thought I'd look at what directed me towards Horticulture and why I still find it so fascinating today.

It's a fairly typical reason and probably one a lot of my generation (and many more in generations prior to mine) can relate to. Remember back to a time when we had big yards and less to occupy our downtime with i.e. Tablets, TV's, Netflix etc etc? As a child it was a great time to be growing up, so much endless opportunity right in our own piece of the world.

I guess I had a slightly bigger backyard than most growing up on a dairy farm in Northern Tasmania, as a young boy it was paradise - animals, hay, mud, large paddock, tractors, did I mention mud?I could get lost in imagination play for hours. Coming from a fairly big family there were always cousins around to play with, but I could also go off by myself and get into trouble at times anywhere on that farm.

Christmas was always a great time to look forward to, especially if we held the family Xmas do on the farm, so many people in the one place, I still have so many fond and vivid memories of those times. There was always one person who brought it all together, somehow with a magic wand now that I think how much work there was to do prior - my Nan.

And Jean Gregory (aka Nan) folks, is whom I squarely blame my plant obsession on!

Some of my fondest memories are spending countless hours playing in my Nan's garden. Her house wasn't far from ours, but nowhere near as close as some neighbors these days, but close enough we could visit anytime.

Her home seemed huge, I guess you could call it the homestead of the farm but I never wanted to spend too much time inside (unless food was being cooked/served - that in itself is a story for another day) because the garden was a realm of possibilities. Trees to climb on, bushes and shrubs to hide in and the creek that ran behind my Nan's house was a favorite spot especially in the warmer months (yes Tassie can get warm).

My memories of the garden were that is was large, fairly contained to the to the rear by large shrubs and large trees under planted with shade loving shrubs and ground covers.  An open frontage was bordered by fairly typical cottage type garden. The front veranda was a great place to sit and enjoy the sun or relax after a day running amok in the garden and of course there were plants filling the veranda - hanging baskets with ferns and zygocactus, various plastic pots with seedlings and other assorted green life.

The other fond memory of my Nan's garden was the edible component. Jean was like many of her generation (an earlier) that produced a lot of their own food for home consumption. Nan spend a lot of time tending to her garden and in particular the fruit & vegetables. Nothing went to waste with so many kids and grand kids around to feed. Long term needs were also taken care of, my Nan was big on making Jams and preserving vegetables - an art that is in decline but still very much worthwhile.

I can credit much of my connection to the natural world to two very prominent women in my life, my Mum, with her dairy farming and my Nan with her garden. It's sad to see that we have been losing touch, losing our connection with nature and the systems that provide us with much of the food we consume due to higher density housing with smaller backyards.

There is a silver lining however, with a growing resurgence for gardening, there are now many innovative ways for people to use smaller space smarter. Systems like pre-manufactured raised garden beds and vertical gardens all growing in popularity over the last decade.

Also, and the most pleasing as a parent, is the increased number of primary schools incorporating fruit & vegetable gardens and the cooking of this produce into their curriculum - getting kids into gardening and giving them a connection to their natural environment, learning that fruit and vegetables don't just come from the Supermarket.

So fellow green thumbs, who gave you the passion for green life? I'd love to hear your stories if you're willing to share - I bet more often than not it was passed down from a family member.