Dear Gardener,
It’s hard to understate the joy of gardening on a balmy Spring afternoon or when you bite into that sweet, juicy ear of fresh corn. There’s something magical about watching your first tulips of the season burst forth with their bright reds, golds, and oranges. And the memories that come with an heirloom seed passed down through generations can speak to us in a way that few other things can.
That joy, that happiness, is also hard to relay to another person. But the writers in this collection have managed to share their gifts with us. The joy of gardening they manage to capture, with all its memories and moments and lessons, is here on the page for all of us to enjoy and take comfort in.
In “Dad and the Fantasticks,” Erica Fire reminisces about the friendship between her father and father-in-law that blossomed over the years as they shared seeds, made compost together, and passed on their collected gardening wisdom.
Kerry Seymour, on the other hand, has a very different gardening story to share. While the man who offered gardening advice to Kerry was “a wise-looking, older fellow,” it turns out he didn’t know that much about gardening. Even so, she followed his advice for nearly two decades. What was that advice? And what was the ultimate life lesson? “Let Us Grow Lettuce” has the details.
Sometimes, though, the joy of gardening isn’t about gardening at all. As Pat Stone notes in “Ephemeral Spring,” some of the joy is in appreciating the fleeting beauty of nature’s gardens. “I watched the hillside take on the faintest hints of tints, brighten with brush strokes of pastels, then flash an array of green hues.”
Gaylord Brewer, too, appreciates the transient flavors of the seasons, from Spring strawberries to Summer watermelons to the pressed cider of fall. The joy of gardening expressed in “Bounty” is about that perfect moment when the abundance of earth “intersects the fleeting moment we’re alive to enjoy it.”
You’ll find story after story in this collection of these small moments when a tiny flower or the taste of a perfect berry makes the world feel like paradise, even if only for a snapshot of time. I hope you enjoy this collection and can give yourself a moment to share in the joy.
Bill Dugan
Editor & Publisher
GreenPrints
