Green grow the rushes,

oh.

Maybe. Wait, no rushes in the garden. I think.

You see, I'm not much of a gardener. Put it down to living in apartments for pretty much all my adult life. I did attempt a balcony garden in France, and the only thing that survived, oddly enough, was the lemon tree, the most difficult and fiddly thing I had. Even the lavender bit the proverbial dust.

Now I find myself living in the house previously owned by someone who knew a thing or two about gardening. She left me with a spreadsheet of what's where and what to do with it, with instructions about separating and pruning and whatnot. Separating? Pruning? Okay, pruning is a concept I understand, but as to actually HOW to do this, well, forget it.

My sister has a theory about gardening. She doesn't put anything into her yard or vegetable garden that can't survive neglect or drought. This theory appeals to me, except that it would require knowing what types of plants can't survive neglect or drought...

I'm thinking about all this because I just finished listening to gardening guru Mark Cullen on television, promoting his latest book ("Mark Cullen's Ontario Gardening").

Cullen claimed that gardeners are, generally, happy people with bright dispositions, who have a bright outlook on things.

Now, I'm beginning to see the problem here. But it's a chicken and egg problem, I think -- am I generally not terifically happy, with a less than bright disposition, with a generally pessimistic outlook on things BECAUSE I am not a gardener?

Or am I not a gardener BECAUSE I am, generally, a bit of a stick in the mud?

And if I throw myself into the garden, will it change my outlook?

(The pessimist in me says no. The pessimist in me suggests that there is probably nothing that can be done.)

I already know that trying to put in a vegetable garden is going to be a challenge, because of the large number of trees in the yard, and the mass of roots they've put out. It has been suggested that we might want to have them taken out. I shudder at the thought of the cost of such a venture.

But a vegetable garden appeals to me. I'm big into local produce (though at this time of year it's difficult not to give into the temptation of Peruvian asparagus or Chilean strawberries -- what holds me back is the knowledge that they would taste like wood) and self-sufficiency, so having a garden to produce some of what we need in a manner that is good for the environment, well, that just sounds so right.

I also ran across the Grow a Row organization the other day. I'm still looking into it, but the idea is to plant extra in your garden and donate it to a local food bank or soup kitchen -- having made sure, of course, that the food bank or soup kitchen is prepared to take what you've grown. Mainly, you're supposed to set up a local network of gardeners and organizations.

This type of idea appeals to me, mainly because I like the idea of a community taking responsibility and making connections with its various members. I like the idea of giving something back to your community, and I like the idea of community taking care of all its members.

Another organization that impresses me is Foodshare. Foodshare looks at the system of food: how it is produced, how it is distributed, and how it is consumed, all underscored with a committment to building community. Foodshare participates in community and urban gardening projects in order to re-establish and reinforce our connection with the food we eat.

I couldn't help thinking that there should be some kind of link between Foodshare and Grow a Row -- encourage community gardens that give back to the community, that help to feed those members of the community who just don't have the means to do it for themselves.

Finally, I can't but see a connection to the Slow Food movement. Slow Food began in Italy in 1986, and its orginal goal was "to counter the tide of standardization of taste and the manipulation of consumers around the world." If I remember correctly, the founder, Carlo Petrini, was appalled at the opening of the first McDonald's fast food restaurant in Italy, at the foot of the Spanish Steps in Rome.

Today Slow Food's aims have expanded. They catalogue and safeguard native animals, plants, and agricultural heritage (traditional ways of producing food). They believe in biodiversity, sustainable agriculture. They safeguard not only traditional methods of productions, but the products derived from them, be they food or drink. Slow Food emphasizes our connection to our environment and the pleasure it gives us in the form of sustenance.

So there we are. I believe in all this stuff. I believe in looking after the environment (next step, setting up the composter, with a little help from the Composting Council of Canada (who are, perhaps not surprisingly, a partner of Grow a Row). I'm just not good at keeping the plants alive.

We'll see how this goes. Er, grows...