Notable sentences include:
"...people have become frightened of battling the elements or waiting for something to grow. Children are so used to meals from packets they do not know where vegetables come from."
"We are used to things on demand, we are so used to being in charge of everything," he said. I want a strawberry now! But, realise what you are going to have to pay for it not only in pounds and pence but in losing the anticipation of seasonality."
And my favorite:
"And Mr. Titchmarsh, who was once voted as the sexiest man on television after George Clooney, insisted gardening skills can even make you sexy."
Come to think of it, have you ever heard the comment "wow, I can't believe you can grow that stuff" or similar? I noticed many times these comments come from those many would view as very smart, successful, or otherwise competent! Are gardeners really that amazing? I think so, and apparently we're sexy, too!
When you get right down to it, gardening is exactly like so many of the other crafts that have gone by the wayside and nearly been lost in the past several generations. Not everyone can do it. Despite what some people think, it requires talent (a "feel" for it, if you will). It requires time and toil to build your garden soil up to the point where it is capable of sustaining the growth of healthy crops. You have to have a great amount of knowledge to successfully grow things. Having a healthy, flexible body that is capable of the physical work involved in gardening is necessary. Gosh, I could go on and on. Just like a spinner, or candle maker, or instrument maker, or seamstress must learn or be taught his craft so must a gardener.
ReplyDeleteAnd, oh yeah, there's that learning curve of how to look sexy while gardening.
...and the knitter! Can't forget that one, I am mystified!
ReplyDeleteSexy, huh? I suppose there's an earthyness that comes out of that. A natural beauty. However, I can see it so much more in a man leaning on a garden rake than me with my hair either plastered with sweat or sticking out at odd angles with bits of old bean leaves and squash bugs holding on for dear life.
ReplyDeleteYup. I'll leave that to the men.
Oh, we're glad to have that extra bit of sexy in our court. :P
ReplyDeleteMay the Queen should start an organic garden like Michelle did. Then the Brits wouldn't be so affeared of a little hard work in the dirt!
Woohoo, we're a sexy bunch! ;0
ReplyDeleteHa ha ha! I'm going to have to share that "sexy" comment with my husband. After digging last year's garden bed I ended up with poison ivy from head to toe. He thought I was pretty disgusting, and I can't say I blame him..
ReplyDeleteWell, heck yeah it's sexy. Sun, rain, man against the elements, nurturing, spading, spreading, heat, sweat, harvest. . .
ReplyDeleteMakes my knees weak to just think about it.
I get a lot of interesting questions from some of my friends who don't garden. It makes me think...did these people actually graduate from college? At least they are asking questions, right?
ReplyDeleteSorry about the Vikings. Poor Brett is probably scarred for life.
The "frightened" part of the article might be a bit overdone, but gardening certainly is alien to a lot of people; what is alien is often at least disturbing/unsettling. It is amazing, sometimes, what people don't know.
ReplyDeleteI understand their not recognizing asparagus that's been allowed to mature, but I've talked with neighbors who didn't realize that the taller plants in my front yard were corn!
However, as long as no one burns me at the stake, thinking that I've "magicked" some carrots out of the ground, I am proud to be the keeper of such arcane and esoteric knowledge. And, to have the bonus of being sexy!