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The joy of gardens

20/5/2021

5 Comments

 
PictureYoung children experience gardens as an adventure playground
and food festival.
By John Coldebella
 
MY LOVE affair with gardening goes back a long way.  One of my earliest memories as a pre-schooler is of being in the yard next door on a summer day.  Standing in the cool shade under a canopy of grapevine leaves with filtered sunlight breaking through here and there.  Next to me were towering plants that seemed alive as they dwarfed my young child frame.  There was the sound and sight of birds, and another sight and sound that seems to excite most young children: that of running water.  In this case, the rhythmic pulse of water coming from one of those old type garden sprinklers that were common in the 1960s.

It's difficult to put into words what I felt in that moment.  A combination of awe and ecstasy comes close but doesn't capture it entirely.  A photograph of my face at the time may have shone some light on what I was experiencing, but in those days not everyone had a camera, and even for those who did, the ritual of taking photos was reserved for weddings, holidays and, in our case, on the first day of the school year when Mona Legge from next door would come over and take the annual photo of us in our school uniforms as we stood on the front lawn.  If it was our very first ever day of school, we would also proudly hold our new lunchbox.

Moving on from experience described above, gardens became a kind of adventure playground and food festival at the same time.  Grazing on tomatoes from plants that were taller than me, carrots and assorted fruit became a way of life.  To this day, the smell of tomato plant foliage in midsummer is one of the most desirable and intoxicating scents in my life.  Legal and wholesome chroming. 

​Another fascination of gardens that has never faded or diminished for me is seeing the soil beginning to crack, heralding the imminent bursting forth of the seeds that were buried on that spot.  Some years ago, I penned the words: 'I learned about seeds when I was quite young, and the joy has only increased.  So many reasons to follow the seasons, life is a veg edible feast'.
​
When I left home, I decided to replicate the yard of my childhood, both at rental properties and on the land where I eventually built a house.  Partly for the food and sense of wellbeing that comes with being in a garden, and partly to try and retain that freshness of childhood being that I never wanted to leave behind.  I was very fortunate to have been introduced to real food from its natural source in its due season from my earliest days.  It should be rated as a basic and essential human right.
 
Over the last 30 years, my greatest delight has been in seeing a procession of young children going through the same ritual of wonder and discovery as they eat their way around my yard.  Toddlers biting berries directly from the plants, fruit juice running down their faces and arms.  Some of them now have their own children and the tradition of home-grown food continues. 
 
It's not hard to get young children actively engaged.  They love following their parents around and doing what they are doing.  Throw in the ingredients of dirt, water and gratified taste buds, and not much persuasion is required.  Even if they lose interest for a while, as is the case with some children who learn a musical instrument and then stop playing, the foundations have been laid for a return later in life.​​
Picture
The children whose photos accompany this article (now 11 years old) gave their permission for publication, as did their mother.
 
This is the first of a gardening column by John Coldebella based on what’s happening in his own back yard.
5 Comments
Joy Button
21/5/2021 03:11:35 pm

Lovely photos and looking forward to another gardening column.
The garden is my happy place too and would love any tips that you have John to create such magnificent, healthy and happy sunflowers. Mine just fail badly.

Reply
John Coldebella.
21/5/2021 08:10:30 pm

Thanks for your comment Joy. Regarding sunflowers, all I can recommend is planting them early (September, October), compost, chook poo, and lots of finger crossing. I too have spectacular failures in between successes. The seed stock can also have a bearing on the results. I haven't grown any sunflowers for some years but last year, my niece had excellent results in North Melbourne using harvested seeds from my crops. My neighbour bought seeds from the shop which produced seed husks with no kernels. Not surprisingly, the birds which normally feed from the seeds showed no interest. Keep trying and good luck.

Reply
Joy Button
22/5/2021 02:27:16 am

Thank you so much John for your tips and will definitely have another go this year.

Sue Packham
21/5/2021 08:02:50 pm

Lovely article about the love of gardens. You John were raised with a productive garden throughout your childhood and have continued along that garden path in adulthood.
I had no home garden experience for most of my first two decades. There was a fig tree in a rental property and that's where I began my love of figs - and how to climb trees - still climb my own fig tree these days.
Then my best girlfriend had a country property and was a garden whizz! So I learnt to grow from her example.
So it's never too late to start a food - and flower - garden, both of which I love and spend time in every day.

Reply
Anne Heath Mennell
29/5/2021 02:34:26 pm

Lovely to read about your garden, John, and your gardening experiences.
I look forward to reading more ...

Reply



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