So I was gonna hold off on this one until it hit new stands but it looks like Organic Gardening Magazine let the cat out of the bag early and has published an article I wrote for the Feb 2008 issue (“Grow Where You Are Planted”) on their website.
I really enjoyed writing this article. When they approached me about writing a piece the timing was good — I had been itching to write about the topics covered and needed the impetus to get off my butt and do it. It’s a short piece briefly outlining my overall experiences as an urban gardener. The article also addresses outsider feelings I have struggled with since entering the world of garden writing and publishing as a career: Where and how do I fit in to this world of gorgeous, expansive gardens, expensive hardscaping, and quaint early-life garden experiences? Since writing the first book, several interviewers have asked about my childhood and early experiences with gardening. I have stammered and fallen over myself every single time. There is no easy answer to this question. There certainly are informative early experiences but my feeling has often been that the answer they are looking for is not one I can provide. And as far as how do I fit into this world, well it seems that in every category possible I stick out like a sore thumb. I did not have quaint early childhood gardening experiences, there were no early-life mentors, I live in a small apartment, I have only lived in a house with an actual backyard for 3 brief moments through the course of my entire life, I still consider myself to be lower to barely lower-middle class, I have never owned land, I don’t drive a car, I do not have a degree in horticulture (I studied Fine Arts), I have a terrible potty mouth… shall I continue? When attending garden shows and giving presentations I have rarely felt comfortable with the other “Gardening World Celebrities” and have always felt a bit like an impostor accidentally admitted to the Country Club. It’s not a feeling of inferiority or insecurity so much as a feeling of strangeness and difference. And a feeling that sooner or later that membership is going to be revoked.
It has taken some time but I’ve finally hit on an answer to this issue that I bring up in the course of the article. The answer is in the tagline I’ve been using for this site over the last few years, “Gardening for the People.” I’ve been living out the answer all along. I just needed to get there in my own head, for myself, in a new way. Gardening is not just a homogeneous experience in which rich white people with big floppy hats and sparkling teeth increase their social standing and property value through proper plant and rock placement. Gardening is for all of us. Gardening is for anyone who loves plants, or wants to grow food, or thinks flowers are pretty. Gardening is for anyone who is scared to try but who wants to give it a go. We all come to this from different places, different backgrounds, different experiences (and experience levels), and different interests. My life is complicated. Your life is complicated. I’d wager a solid bet that the seemingly quaint life of every single “Gardening World Celebrity” is also complicated.
In the end I don’t care how different we are. The only thing we need to have in common is the love. And even that isn’t a prerequisite.
Check out the article here or see it in the February 2008 issue of Organic Gardening magazine.
Whoa – I just got the magazine at work an hour ago and was thumbing through it, saw your article, and thought “Hey, I should congratulate her on writing the article!” Low and behold here you’ve already posted about it. Regardless… great job!
The article was a good read and I think there is an important niche in the world of gardening that you are filling. I am glad to see gardening magazines branching out to include your innovative ideas as well. That shows a change in mindset for traditional gardeners, which is incredible.
And your story is really inspiring to the thousands of people that say, “I would love to garden, but no one ever showed me how and I don’t know where to begin.”
Okay so it is out I just haven’t seen it yet.
Thank you Renee! You are making me teary.
Gayla, I haven’t yet read the article but I’m so impressed by your post about it. I will always long for a plot in the ground, preferably in the country, but right now and for the foreseeable future, I am an urban balcony garden. I get so much from your blog: inspiration, information, support. It also challenges me, too, to do my best with what I have.
Well, so I have something to blog about or at least be able to offer something in the comments, I better make this weekend the one to clean up the balcony so it’s ready to be a nursery for the spring seedlings. What do you do to motivate yourself to work out in the cold and wet?
Gayla, I haven’t yet read the Organic Gardening article (I will) but I loved reading this background post about it. To be honest, I will always long for a plot in the ground, preferably in the country, but right now and for the foreseeable future, I am an urban balcony gardener. I get so much from your blog: inspiration, information, support. It also challenges me, too, to do my best with what I have.
Well, so I have something to blog about or at least be able to offer something in the comments, I better make this weekend the one to clean up the balcony so it’s ready to be a nursery for the spring seedlings. What do you do to motivate yourself to work out in the cold and wet?
Rock on Gayla. This sounds amazing. I can’t wait to read it.
Congrats on the published piece! I just started reading Organic Gardening and plan to pitch a few article ideas there way this month. :)
> Gardening is not just a homogeneous experience in which rich white people with big floppy hats and sparkling teeth increase their social standing and property value through proper plant and rock placement. Gardening is for all of us.
Amen, sister!
right on. for the record, this real voice of yours is what hooked me and makes it so that i pore over your book and consult its very practical and can-do ideas for my very urban south philly container garden. plus there are also pretty bits to admire and lovely photos. you’ve got a great eye, strong voice, and warm persona.
my two cents.
i love your site and your blog, every time i come here i’m inspired not to give up on my meager garden but to try just a little bit harder. i finally relaxed about it all this past year and lo, everything grew splendidly. i expanded my operation to include a plethora of containers and i would never even have continued any of it without having this place to come to. gardening makes me feel generally stupid and pretty ignorant, but i love the rare times when something works well and thrives and i can sit back and go “oh, ok, so that will work in that spot, with that soil and that light and should be watered that much etc”. being able to refer to this site is now 100% necessary. and damn you, i keep buying more seeds for next year. lol. have a great day gayla, thanks for keeping my gardening spirit alive and well taken care of.
nice article! :)
Amen to all this praise. I can completely relate to the outsider-in-gardening feeling, as I’m not part of that elite gardening crowd, but desperately want to learn. I feel like I’m finding my way through the dark at times, as I don’t have a background in this stuff. My parents gardened extensively when I was young, but alas, I never was interested and they’re both gone now. So, I’m kind of (re-)discovering gardening (growing edibles and non-edibles) because I’m interested in food-source issues, and as a link to my parents. Your site and book are guideposts in this journey for me, Gayla. Your voice is authentic and so valued, as I certainly don’t relate to the intimidating, members-only, floppy hat crew either!
Beautyfull! And you are so right!
Gayla, Just read the article last night after working in my yard half the day. How inspiring! I live in a small town in Texas where most people have yards but have no interest in growing anything except in what is easiest to mow over! And, we have severe weather conditions here. It pays to read information for your growing area and to talk to people who garden. In my case, I learned from my parents who always had a backyard garden. Gardening is a learning experience that never ends…one of the reasons I enjoy it so much. It scares me how much knowledge has been lost over the years. I work with children and try to share my flowers and sometimes even the taste of fresh vegetables with them.
I consider my yard a work of art and a work in progress. Wouldn’t we be bored with gardening if it was predictable and easy? Anyway, congratulations on the article. By the way, your veggies in the photo looked way better than mine!
I’m getting my degree, and have been in and around the “industry people” and I certainly don’t feel like I fit in. So you’re not the only one! (and I’m glad to see I’m not the only one who feels like an outsider) Plus you know all the applicable knowledge. Those of us earning degrees get the scientific aspect.. but it’s sometimes hard to translate that information into usable knowledge for actually gardening. Really liked the article as well. I like how you write :)
I loved your article. I grew up in apartments my whole life and saw my mom make cuttings and plants from mango pits and seeds from the grocery store. Currently I garden in a carport and I have a physical disability. Anyone can garden, anywhere! Of course I dream of lush acres of gardens with staff but I believe in making the most of what you have and not waiting for something that may not happen.
Bravo cara, for your courageous spirit, bringing your passion and love of gardening to so many people! I’m so proud of you.
xoxo,
Jules
Word up sister. Your site is incredibly useful and an absolute pleasure to read. It is inspiring to have a place, even if it is a virtual place, to share ideas about gardening without the focus on creating something perfect. I love hearing about the different processes gardeners use and their results. And your own photos are lovely to look at!
Keep up the fantastic work and congratulations on the article!
Gayla, you inspire me. My first experience with gardening was planting grass seed in an eggshell at Sunday School when I was about 5 years old. I was hooked, but didn’t realize it until I got older. I’m white,but I’m not rich. I wear a floppy hat when I garden because, after many years of gardening, the sun is doing a real number on my face(wish I’d started wearing one sooner). Thanks.
Hi Gayla-
Your article is now on the Organic Gardening homepage- http://www.organicgardening.com/feature/0,7518,s1-5-19-1636,00.html
I used a photo of my teeny fire escape garden to accompany the article, it seemed appropriate. Congratulations on the article and thanks for inspiring urban gardeners everywhere!
Wonderful article!
Holy cow I am so overwhelmed by all of the kind words here. Thank you all! I am trying to answer each of you but my inbox is a nightmare.
Elaine: I am going to answer your question as a separate post.
Laura: I also love the never-ending-learning aspect of gardening. It also means that every new season is another chance to try again.
Meenoo: Me two on the making something out of what you have.
Sorellina: You are making me teary again.
Mary: My description is just to make a point about a cliche. I have certainly considered many floppy hats over the years!
Abby: I love, love, love the name of your site
Woot! I haven’t been here in a while and WOW what an awesome site YGG has become. I’m so proud of you! xx
Hello Gayla. The whole concept behind You Grow Girl to us beautifully sums up what gardening and gardens are all about. It’s probably one of the most open societies around. Gardens are for anyone and everyone who wants to make one. It doesn’t matter if you can afford to pay someone to create and maintain the gardens at your exclusive address or if you commandeer a little disused piece of city land a poor neighborhood. It doesn’t even matter if your creation looks good as long as you like it and enjoy it. Those who choose to be garden snobs for whatever reason are most annoying because they really don’t get it.
Keep up the good (and hard) work. You are creating your own reasons, stories and special memories. Which is exactly the point.
hey gayla, your blog address is one of my bookmarks. ‘nough said. i’m a farmer in pennsylvania. your creativity attracted me to your blog and i tune in every so often to make sure i don’t have my face buried too deep into the compost pile to recognize my own creativity. so… thanks.
after reading your article i feel the need to write to you. when appreciating the difficulties of urban gardening, you ironically wrote, “Surely I would prefer a proper garden, a nice, quiet farm in the country.” i just want to make sure you know that the challenges of raising organic food in the country are as profound as in the city. granted, they’re very different challenges. but i gotta tell ya, the goods don’t just spring out the ground with blissful gratitude for being spawned in the country. then there’s the iceberg-like dilemma of overcoming the stigma of being an organic vegetable farmer in the midst of conventional corn and soybeans.
i guess i just want to be sure that you understand, truly, that we are all the same, we gardeners. we all scratch our heads and wonder what the hell happened to the brussels sprouts this year or how did i manage to dodge the japanese beetle onslaught?
why do we continue to garden under these difficulties, you ask? your answer illustrates to me that you do understand… we love it, need it, and must do it.
Everblossom Farm: I do understand all of the points you make. The sentence you quoted was in regards to the countless people who have assumed that a real garden can’t exist in the city and that if a person wants to REALLY garden they have to move away from it. Unfortunately I can only say so much in a thousand-word limit but a larger point I had wished to get to is that we need to see gardening as something that can happen anywhere if we want to take action in making the city not just a place referred to as a “concrete jungle” but a place where nature can exist. I’m kind of tired of the concrete jungle description because the city can be more than that if we open up our concept of it to include a larger definition… and if we in turn take action to make that happen.
Absolutely no disrespect was intended. We all have our difficulties to deal with and of course we also have our joys.
Hey there from Oklahoma! Subscribe to OG and read the article and really enjoyed! I love the way you write, sounds like you’re a down to earth girl. I’ve had that same “left out” feeling at certain events with the so-called professionals. I’m a backyard gardener with a little experience in landscaping here in Tulsa, Always wanted to move to the country but never could so decided to bring the country here and got some chickens, they’re great. Thanks for all the inspiration. You’re right about gardening, doesn’t matter where you came from, if you love it, you love it, no matter who you are.