> I thought it would be fun to post this – just to get off the topic of busting on Democrats for a bit.
> Recently I was asked why I garden and what business trends do you see in gardening these days (what are neighbors doing etc.). Here is the response from “the VISIONARY”.
I have a garden because I have a growing family and feel it is a healthy hobby for children, and improves quality of life. It’s also one of the few hobbies that everyone can enjoy, and allows me to use slivers of time (e.g. weeding) between taking care of children etc. Many people these days want to experience greater quality and their lives, and the ability to get in touch with nature really helps a lot. There are lots of ways people express this, generally, including wholistic practices such as Yoga, or eating organic foods, natural childbirth techniques, natural medicine etc.
Our family is a little different than most, in that we are authentic Catholics, who take our spiritual lives seriously. My wife is a stay at home Mom, and I am a small business owner who works pretty long hours, but is doing well. We want a large family, and do not partake in electronic media as a source of amusement for endless hours, although we actively are engaged in the world. We look back to our grandparents generation, the “greatest generation”, and admire and long for what they had. This is a small, but growing “class” of family. We know of at least 10 other families like us, and since they have a large number of kids, we can see that it will mean prosperity and growth in the future if not immediately. It’s kind of a mini population boom, actually.
We recognize we are quite different than our neighbors in the uppity Boston suburbs. Many just don’t have time for gardens. Only the older people take their gardens seriously, like I do. I suspect we are a bit “ahead” of our time, and expect to see more people who think like us in the later generations.
I would be really interested in location specific seeds, techniques etc. I am also very interested in local hardy or heirloom types, which just naturally grow well in MA, but maybe noone has seen before. Finally, I’d be fascinated trying interesting new (or old, but not known) varieties of plants which are known to grow here (or grow well in a similar climate), and don’t take as much babying as some. For example, a friend of mine gave us this Italian chicory. It grows huge hairy leaves in the summer, and has deep roots. It’s quite bitter actually, but it’s the first (edible) plant to come up in the spring, and you can eat it until Dec. I transplant it to grow new plants. I have never seen anything like that in any seed catalog or hardware store. It’s been a lot of fun.
There are probably lots of ways to go with the business. If you were to look at this experience as a “class”, my advice would be to downsize and focus on a small, identifiable, growing group of folks. Gardening for the short term is in it’s winter stage. But Spring will come again, so carefully nuture, weed and watch it grow – but I don’t have to tell you that!
