ShareThisI'm often asked: From where or whom did I acquire my love of gardening?
Unlike many who can attribute it to a family member, often a grandparent, I have no such knowledge of a family member leading me down the path to gardening obsession. In fact, the only thing I remember about a family member as it relates to gardening was the time my grandmother took me over her knee for picking off her lovely red, marble-sized fruit that happened to be the most ornamental feature of the Christmas palms that lined her driveway. As an 8-year-old, I couldn't see the big deal. Now, though, I'm surprised she didn't follow through on a well-deserved spanking.
Although I wouldn't consider my parents gardeners, my dad tended to the recurring weekend chores of mowing, weeding and trimming. I'm not sure I was enamored of any of those responsibilities, but as a young boy simply wanting to spend time with his dad, I was eager to take on any task.
But as I've often reflected back on this question, it always comes back to one incident that stands out as the "aha" moment. Also when I was 8, as I recall, I was in my back yard one spring Saturday doing what many young boys do at that age: break branches and make forts. One of those broken branches I realized after the fact was from a special shrub my dad had recently purchased and was quite protective of. Having realized the mistake I had just made and not wanting to get caught, I immediately stuck the branch back into the soil to make it appear it was alive and well.
A few months later, I wondered what became of that broken branch, so cleverly concealed by my efforts to stick it back in the ground. As I secretly ventured out to check on its fate, I gave the branch a tug. Much to my surprise, it resisted my pull. In the short time it had been left in the ground, it formed roots that sustained its life. More importantly, it was that moment that changed my life forever.
I was immediately intrigued. How could a stick turn into a new plant with roots? I had to know more. I began growing lots of plants from cuttings. Living in South Florida at the time certainly provided the ideal growing conditions for an outdoor laboratory such as mine. Within weeks, I had scores of cuttings potted up in everything from cups to buckets. I began growing flowers from seeds and propagating stag-horn ferns so prolifically that I created an inventory that was "outgrowing" my back yard. With an impressive collection of plants, I saw the potential to turn my hobby into a profitable business. My first business transaction related to my hobby occurred while I was still only 8 years old. It was a lease to my mother of six of my best stag-horn ferns for a term of 100 years. I drafted the agreement, exchanged signatures with Mom and collected my $10 fee -- which, by the way, covered the entire term!
Along the way, I grew roses, grafted fruit trees and sold plants at neighborhood yard sales. When I wasn't growing something, I spent my free time roaming the back acres of an expansive nursery specializing in tropical trees. It was a mere block from my house, yet I felt like I was in the Amazon forest a million miles away. It was a magical experience for a young boy enamored of anything that grew from the soil.
Almost 40 years later, my passion for all things green is stronger than ever. And the more I know, the greater my desire to learn the things I don't. Who knew a few roots growing from a broken branch as a young boy would change my life forever? Thinking back, I guess you could say I did get my love of gardening from my parents, just not in the traditional sense.
(Joe Lamp'l, host of "GardenSMART" on PBS, is a Master Gardener and author. For more information visit www.joegardener.com. For more stories, visit scrippsnews.com.)
THE GARDENER WITHIN
