With all the snow that has fallen, there will be no work in the garden for many days. Having some time, I wandered down to the creek and found myself staring at the running water with nary a thought in my head. Call it zoning out or maybe down there in that creek bottom, all alone in the silent snow, I found for just a few moments that which the current season revolves around: Peace on Earth. I hope all of you all find some too!
Happy Holidays from the The Growers Exchange
I hope everyone enjoys Thanksgiving as much as I do. Our annual family gathering measures in the high thirties, maybe even forty by now. Since marrying into this family I have seen exponential growth, a clan sized population boom. With so much fun and family mixing for a few days, there always are those little incidents that do not remind one of a Hallmark moment. Details differ, but let’s just admit that some of the time these family gatherings also gather old angst. Sitting here in my office, I couldn’t help wondering if I was carrying any of that old angst when I spotted the white sage bundle near my desk.
Is there negative energy floating around my office? I don’t feel any, but why not let the sage tell me? My brother in Colorado keeps me with a steady supply of sage wands, as they are hard to come by in Virginia. What comes next is an honest experiment, and be aware I have something at risk doing this online. Once I light the sage wand, it cannot be extinguished, it must be allowed to smoke as needed to negate positive ions and other bad vibes. So if the wand produces a lot of smoke? Then I guess I was carrying some bad vibes, maybe?
The sage is lit and the room is smudging as a column of smoke rises from the sage wand; a thin light stream, a good sign. I am sitting here watching and honestly wondering how much smoke will be needed to clear my aura. My interest is keen, and as we wait, let’s admit that no one can get under your skin like those that know you best, especially if related. So instead of wondering, I asked the sage to reveal the negative vibes around me. And as I write these words, the fire is out! Only a small quarter of an inch burned, not even to the first wrapping. My office is cleared and there wasn’t much here, and that is good to know!
To be honest, it is about time that I did some redecorating in my office. I have had the same office furniture for a few years now so I might invest in a new office chair and a new desk. What do you think? A friend of mine has also suggested that I should get some storage boxes. There is so much clutter in my office at the moment, the entire room is in desperate need of decluttering! Feel free to share any office decluttering tips in the comments below as I would love to hear them.
That being said, herbs are such useful plants. They can be used for so many different things. Right here, I settled a question that had been nagging me for days, if my aura is clear then my intentions must be good also, and anything that may or may not have happened over the holiday certainly was not of my doing. I have never seen ” conscious cleaning” as a property listed for white sage, but I just proved it works for that too! So, if there is some unresolved dispute still lingering, no matter how small. Ask the sage to reveal the vibes around you; just do it in private in case you burn the whole sage wand! Herbs are amazing plants; I seem to find new uses all the time.
One of our neighbors, Berkley Plantation claims to be the site of the very first Thanksgiving feast between Native Americans and some most thankful settlers. Jamestown is about 20 miles downriver; needless to say our farm is located in a historical area, even before English settlers arrived, the banks of this river were heavily populated. It is a wide and fertile river valley with plenty of good soil for growing; and so has attracted farmers for thousands of years. We are here now, and so have plenty to be thankful for.
Being familiar with local history, and being neighbors, we have always believed Berkley as the sight of the first American Thanksgiving. The Pilgrims and their Native benefactors must have had a mighty fine feast also, just a few years after the one here in Charles City. The tradition still burns strong here, because every Thanksgiving, all our family members return to the farm for a few days of just appreciating being here together. Even the teenagers make every effort to be here, so it must be good!
Thanksgiving is the greatest holiday; gathering for a feast is a custom as old as humankind itself. Maybe because under all the hoopla and running around of our everyday lives, instinctively we know that all we need is food, family and a chance to enjoy both. Who had the first Thanksgiving feast? I wouldn’t know for sure, but what seems important is that the tradition lives on.
So, things will be crowded here on the farm, but that’s what we all came for! We at The Growers Exchange wish everyone a happy and thoughtful Thanksgiving. After all a lot of that feast came from the garden!
As I work my little garden, I can sometimes recognize these mini seasons and how they affect what is going on with my garden. Is winter beginning to end as the first snowdrops and crocus appear? Or do we wait for a calendar date to tell us spring is coming. Part of the lure of the garden is seeing these little changes appear one by one as each and every species decides it is safe to emerge from winter slumber. Flowers begin to open, sometimes braving cold weather, but following their own path and thrive when the late arrivals would freeze to death. Maples send signals and their leaf buds begin to swell, waiting and ready for that time when it is safe to expose their new leaves to the world.
Spring is a long ways off, and we are now at the time when the growing season is coming to a close. I knew all along the leaves would soon be changing color and dropping to the ground. And another circle begins: this year’s leaves will soon be next years nutrients. It is all so complicated and fascinating, one can never expect to understand but so much about the life cycles of Earth. One thing I do know is that all are interconnected, and what happens to one will affect everything even if the effect is too small for us to see.
So, knowing fall is coming, why do I find myself surprised to find the leaves changed and many herbaceous plants going dormant? Maybe it’s because winter seems to have decided on an early visit this year; it seems we are a few weeks ahead this fall and all the changes we expect came sooner than expected. And as much as I will miss the lazy hot days of summer, it is exhilarating to feel those first cool winds of fall. Shorts and sandals are pack away, and it feels good to be wrapped tight and out in the cold air. And maybe we are reduced to growing only greens and cool season crops that are not quite as tasty and varied as our summer crops. But, there are no regrets, and I actually look forward to kale and collards with a splash of vinegar, because when they are the only fresh veggies available, they are as good as the finest tomato ever grown. Each season brings it’s own wonders; our job is to recognize and appreciate them. How else are we to get through the cold dark days ahead?
Those who know me from my pre-internet days, will remember me as a Neo-Luddite in my aversion to incorporating technology into the daily operations of The Growers Exchange. My long stand against the fax machine was most certainly my most stubbornly counter productive vendetta. The fax did waste lots of paper as I predicted; but it also cut hours of tedious phone orders and instantly became part of our routine. It wasn’t just faxes, I resisted cell phones, computers of any sort, anything that was different from the things I was used to. Tried and true business tools like pencils, legal pads, and my one concession to technology, the calculator, because I never was very good with math.
It was the computer cash registers that finally introduced me to the internet; they had to be online for our credit card processing. That big colorful flat screen in the store’s office enticed me to start looking around and the staff, mostly college students, were happy to show an old-timer how to crawl onto the internet. I was very grateful for their help. As they are part of the generation who grew up with the internet, I just assumed that they would think that everyone should have the same knowledge as them, so I was pleasantly surprised when they answered all my questions without making me feel stupid at the same time. Not only did they explain to me how the internet worked and all the other technological components that came with it, but they also said that I should look at somewhere like infinity dish if I want to incorporate high-speed internet into my home once I’ve got to grips with how it works. How nice of them to suggest that, and it is definitely something that I will look into once I’ve found my feet with it all.
I don’t mind admitting that when we first began the web store project, I was functionally illiterate about any topic concerning computers. What I did know was that the internet offered the very same opportunities for an independent garden center we were now losing to big box retailers in a bricks and mortar store. I also knew it was where all the smart people were focusing their attention. With the right people helping, one can build a pretty good site with out ever admitting ones’ ignorance. Eventually, I caught up with my staff, and now own my own laptop. I get a little insecure when it’s not nearby, so I think I made it to the computer age!
Most surprising of all in our switch from actual to virtual store is the increase in communication between The Growers Exchange and our customers. Our ability to communicate meaningful and useful gardening information would not have been believable when we first became a nursery, 25 years ago. Online we can communicate through our Blog, The Exchange, Facebook, Twitter, email, or the phone if you want to know what we sound like. Our customer relations management systems mean our staff have a customer’s complete record with The Growers Exchange before them. Seriously, if you are a small business then using something like this crm for small business will make a huge difference. Our systems mean we know you when we are speaking and can get right to the point for whatever you may be looking for. We write articles about plants and gardening, which are posted on www.TheGrowers-Exchange.com. And if we can’t help you, we can link you to someone that can. The free flow of garden information and ideas is mind-boggling. We are very excited about the launching of our new site and invite everyone to join us in the garden.
Our farm is home to I don’t know how many daffodils, they were first planted in the 1940’s when my mother-in-law bought the remaining inventory of a down on his luck bulb merchant, who is rumored to have also been a relative. So, maybe the original plan was to help out a friend, but the result was a dump truck full of bulbs.
I managed to pick up the rest of the story from the guy who was farm manager at the time. This was deep country and he freely admits he did not know exactly what the bulbs could be good for. All he knew for sure was that he had been shown where and was now expected to plant them. My mother-in law-had also given him a couple of hand bulb planters, the type that plug a neat little hole for one bulb at a time.
It is true that my mother-in-law did have extensive daffodil beds in her home yard, where she raised show quality flowers for competition. And it is also true she was a dutiful gardener and spent many hours toiling over her many bulbs. But some how the difference in quantity between her beds and a real dump truck packed full escaped her. I guess it would not be far from having to guess how many individual pieces of gravel where in that truck. Ingenuity goes hand in hand with farming, and the hand planters were replaced with a tractor and disc. When the beds were prepared, the dump truck drove down the middle and two guys shoveled bulbs, spacing them by kind launching them over the truck bed. Followed by a chain link drag, not a bulb was showing above ground; mission accomplished?
I asked about the part where the neck of the bulb was supposed to point up. And he calmly said” I let them sort that part out themselves”. Well, they must have because 65 yrs later, we live in a sea of daffodils each spring. They have spread to all the neighboring farms by sharing the bounty. Even now each spring when the daffodils have done their thing, every gardener has some extras from dividing the clumps, which multiply quickly.
The older people call them Jonquils whether they are or not, none of them ever heard of a daffodil. But from one good deed many years ago, everyone who visits our little corner of the world is treated to vistas of daffodils each spring. And with winter approaching fast and early, we will soon be waiting for that beacon of spring, the daffodil.