Comments on: An Old Stereotype, or a Shining Example? My Tribute to Older Gardeners

By: Renate

Renate — Sat, 14 Feb 2009 03:35:11 +0000

Well, a good friend of mine that I admire a lot probably won’t like being listed as older (I’m curious how I’ll feel about that when I’m her age), so I’d have to say Ruth Bancroft, succulent goddess. Here’s a blog post on Gardenrant about an NY Times article about here, still amazing at 87. What an inspiration. http://www.gardenrant.com/my_weblog/2008/09/ruth-bancrofts.html

Renate’s last blog post..What’s deer proof here is salad over at your place

By: Anna/Flowergardengirl

Anna/Flowergardengirl — Wed, 11 Feb 2009 06:05:19 +0000

Excellent topic and tribute to the oldies but goodies. My great aunt died at 102 so I’m real young at 50. I’ve got 50 more years of gardening. Maybe I can try everything by then.

You are right about them being able to buy and toss. I tried to tell the owner of a little shop I worked for that most of her clientele were the older ladies. I could not figure out why she kept buying some of the funky garden do dads out today. I told here what us older women want. She didn’t listen to me and we kept putting gobs of stuff on the sale table. I guess she couldn’t bring herself to buy something old looking

By: Genevieve

Genevieve — Wed, 11 Feb 2009 05:20:06 +0000

Fern, you are so right – so many of my older clients have glass jars lined up neatly in the garage with screws and nails and such. I’ve heard that a lot of older folks wash and re-use their ziploc bags – I’d love to be that environmentally conscious and thrifty. Something to work towards!

Susan, thanks for stopping by! I think you have a ways to go before being one of our elders , but I bet you are going to look awesome with silver hair someday!

Oh Ann, I hope you can get the retirement community to get some accessible raised beds going near that community garden! Wouldn’t that be a wonderful place to set some benches and invite people to hang out? I think when I’m rich that’s going to be one of my missions that I work on – making gardening accessible to everyone. It’s such a soul-soothing thing to dig in the soil and grow things and anticipate the seasons.

LOL, Lindsay, I’m sold. We have our male action figure model, clearly! You can’t beat Einstein hair and floofy brows for quirky charm…

By: Lindsay

Lindsay — Tue, 10 Feb 2009 23:27:54 +0000

I wish I had an older gardener in my family, heh. I get a kick out of the guy who does the free classes at our local nursery though. He has these big fluffy white eyebrows and quasi-Einstein hair, and he can totally crack you up while discussing such prosaic topics as pruning. He'd make a great action figure, heh heh. Lindsay’s last blog post..Increase Your Blogging Income with Product Reviews

By: Ann

Ann — Tue, 10 Feb 2009 14:08:51 +0000

Love the post here. My favorite older gardener is my dad. I've thought about older gardeners a lot this past year with my parents' move from the family home to a retirement community. There's a small community vegetable garden there which has renewed my dad's interest in growing vegetables. After years of growing everything from primulas to camellias to calceolaria from seed in his small drafty greenhouse, it has been hard for him to leave this part of gardening behind. I want, in the worst way, to get a project started in their retirement community for accessible raised beds. Need to make the time to look into this. Thanks Genevieve for another great topic to discuss. Ann’s last blog post..

By: Susan Harris

Susan Harris — Tue, 10 Feb 2009 11:52:43 +0000

Nice post! I got a Google Alert for my name and when I saw the title of the post I thought “Sheesh, I’m old now!” Then I see you describe me simply as a “garden personality” – whew! So I may just have a while to go before I’m classified as old. Not a long while but a while, and I’ll take it.

By: Fern

Fern — Tue, 10 Feb 2009 07:37:03 +0000

It's true that there is a lot to learn about thriftiness and recycling from older folks. My grandpa is a master recycler. He grew up in the depression when nothing went to waste. I work for his company, and every piece of paper in our office is used twice. The first time for whatever it was originally meant for, and the second time as scratch paper to take phone messages. He saves yogurt cups to organize small things like paperclips and thumb tacks....My grandma was the same way. Like you mentioned in your post, I learned to love gardening with cuttings from her plants. Fern’s last blog post..Growing an Apple Tree in a Container

By: Genevieve

Genevieve — Tue, 10 Feb 2009 05:49:50 +0000

That is so sweet, Aerie-el! I can just imagine her with her scarf and straw hat. I’m sending good wishes for her continued energy and good health!

By: Aerie-el

Aerie-el — Tue, 10 Feb 2009 05:36:09 +0000

I have to say my mom is my favorite gardener ever. I went back home to help her this summer, bringing her to radiation treatments, doing errands, odds and ends. And of course to help with the gardening. But even in the summer heat, with the effects of the radiation treatments, and me badgering her to stay out of the sun and relax, she was still out there, digging in the dirt, tending the soil. She had this big ol' straw hat on, tied down with a huge scarf, looking just like Kate Hepburn. We still kid her about it, she was so dang cute. And spunky. And energetic, amazingly so. Yup, my favorite gardener would be my mom. Aerie-el’s last blog post..RED, WHITE, AND GREEN

By: Genevieve

Genevieve — Tue, 10 Feb 2009 04:16:25 +0000

I’m so with you Iona! I bet they’ll bury me with my beloved Bahcos.