“Mentor: Someone whose hindsight can become your foresight”

Last night we watched the first three parts of the Discovery Channel’s Planet Earth, an awe-inspiring, 11-part mini series. There was some beautiful footage of insects, mammals, amphibians, other creatures, and places that I never new existed! The thought that kept occurring to me is “how do these creatures know how to do that?” From the flamboyant mating dance of the elusive blue bird of paradise to the patient, careful egg balance of the Emperor Penguins in freezing Antarctica where temperatures may drop to 128.6 degrees Fahrenheit. Perhaps these mysteries can only be described as a perfect intertwining of nature and nurture; Understood by science and a larger, cosmic power? 

 

Of course, most animal behavior seemed to be taught to the cubs and animal babies by observing and being trained by their mothers. Without their mothers on the brink of starvation, long treks, and dangerous hunting the cubs and babies would never survive. In many cases they learned much from interacting, playing, and observing others from their packs or herds. A type of mentor?

 

Ah! This is my point! While these animal stories are not perfectly matched for my thoughts about learning to garden, it does give me goose bumps just thinking about instinct behavior. 

 

Today I would like to list a few print, people, and sources of the mentors I’ve had in my life (so far) that have given me direction in gardening. The moral of this blog may be that there is so much knowledge out there, and many people willing to share their knowledge:

 

People & Groups:

• Members of Bloomington Organic Gardener’s Association
• Bloomington Parks and Recreation (Classes about gardening and sustainability, especially Michael Simmons and Lucille Bertuccio)
• My Mom, Dad, and family (Growing up we did grow tomatoes, green beans, sunflowers, and pumpkins) 
• Wylie House, Bloomington, IN (Seed sales and tours are very interesting!) 
• My Mother-in-Law (Jean) - Very fun to compare stories about gardening! 
• Neighbors (Gary & Dee, Simone) - Growing lettuce, composting, getting leftover coffee grounds from Starbucks, and seeing my first, true miniature roses!  
• My husband (Who helped me build compost bins, smaller raised beds, and encourages me each year!)
• Hilltop Garden and Nature Center, Indiana University (Not so organic anymore, from what I hear, but still a good source of a lot of gardening info) 
• Growers at the Farmer’s Market (especially in the summer!) - They seem to always be willing to humor me by listening to my stories, and answer my questions! 
• Random people I meet in the supermarket! (”hey, have you started lettuce yet?”) 
• Fun surprises I see when “out and about” in the community, including that resident near Bryan Park who has cold frames by the road so I can see stuff growing… the children at the YMCA daycare who planted seeds last year in see-through cafeteria-lady gloves (filled with soil) and stuck to the window…
• Nature itself! Seeing that potato grow right in my compost…

 

Print:

• Mel Bartholomew, who wrote the “All New Square Foot Gardening” (Who makes gardening a little less stressful and manageable!) 
• John Jeavons, who wrote How to Grow More Vegetables and Fruits, Nuts, Berries, Grains, and Other Crops Than You Ever Thought Possible On Less Land Than You Can Imagine 
• How to Grow a Thriving Vegetable Garden (Book)

 

 On the Web: 

• Tim’s Square Foot Garden - A Master Gardener from Indianapolis, IN. Never met him, I just like his site! 
• Organic Gardening (Interesting Tips!)  
• Leora, H-T Blogger 

 

I’m sure there is more, but that is it for now! It’s fun to think about who we learn from. Knowing how to garden seems to take some effort, but some of it does feel like it comes naturally. My gardening is not as showy as the mating dance of the birds of paradise, but I’ll save that reflection for another day!

 

 

Who - or what - inspires you?