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A Tribute to Garden Moms, from Your Garden Kids

© Linda Mazar

Without all you wonderful Moms, there would be no kids to enjoy all the gardens. In May, on Mother's Day, we thank the many mothers of the world who teach their children to garden. We thank them for the wonderful things they do and for being the fantastic people they are.

We appreciate you. We appreciate that you didn't ban us from the garden for stepping on the freshly turned soil. We thank you for not being upset when we pulled up all the tomato plants in our overly ambitious search for weeds. We are glad that you tolerated our endless questions such as how plants grow, why we shouldn't trample the newly planted marigolds, and what earthworms eat. We value your self-control and ability to see past our fumbling fingers as we dropped in many seeds much closer than we should have or when we dropped the fine seeds and lost them completely while trying to be your "helper".

Even with our many shortcomings and down falls, our mothers have loved us. They have nurtured within us, an appreciation for our green and growing gardens. Our mothers have taught us on their muddy knees and with dirty fingernails, that plants are special but we are even more special. This lesson was emphasized when our mothers found their favorite flowers (that they were perhaps saving for a display in the local flower show) have all been picked. They did not even whimper when these same flowers were presented to her later in the day in a wilting rumpled mass of a bouquet with smiling eyes that sought approval with a whisper of "I love you Mom. These are for you. I know they are your favorite, so I picked them just for you". Instead, their faces beamed of love and the knowledge that this memory was much more important than any blue ribbon.

Mothers, thank you for encouraging small, clumsy fingers to dig in the earth and create beauty. Thank you for choices allowed in flower types and colors, veggie choices, and garden "design". Thank you for enthusiasm for purple pole beans, prolific zucchinis, little pumpkins that took over, tiny alyssum flowers, giant sunflowers, and whatever else caught our eye at the seed rack/nursery. Thank you for caring enough to sacrifice your garden of perfection for a garden of fun, laughter, and learning. Thank you for weeding when we "didn't get around to it". Thank you for loving us enough to let us try out our ideas. Thank you for passing on your passion for the garden. And most of all, thank you moms for being our moms! We love you! Happy Mother's Day!

The copyright of the article A Tribute to Garden Moms, from Your Garden Kids in Gardening with Children is owned by Linda Mazar. Permission to republish A Tribute to Garden Moms, from Your Garden Kids in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.