Topic: If it's not too delicate a question...

[aquilegia]

Just seems like everyone has the stereotypical image of keen gardeners being retired folk. Most of my friends are amazed I like gardening despite being not quite 30!

And it's a poll so you don't have to disclose if you don't want to!

[budgiebreeder]

I can't see why people are surprised with the young gardening.I have gardened from being old enough to remember 1st with my father and then with my children .Who in turn are gardening with their children i have found this to be the norm .more than the exception.

[teresa]

Oh BB

I gardened with my mum and my boys with me when younger.
When the oldest lad married he asumed it was a womans job gardening. Boy did he get a shock when the new wife told him it was a mans job but she would choose the colours.
Well that marrige did not last long but his partner now she says she will do the gardening but he has to dig mow the lawn and as she does not want any help from anyone I bought her a gardening book for Xmas Stephen B. she was over the moon.
But my lad is growing herbs and bonsi and he is over the moon, she does not class that as gardening.
Makes me laugh how different people see gardening.

[Ragged Robin]

Used to garden with my Dad when I was very little. Have only had my garden for 8 yrs and my 7yr old has been helping me since she could walk, she loves growing things and eating things before they even make it into the kitchen.

[aquilegia]

I know. I started too as a child with mum. And loved to dig up gran's veg patch (especially when looking for treasure - i.e. the bits of old crock she'd thrown out!)

I had my first border when I was about seven, although only had my own garden for two years (third summer this year).

But friends still think I'm odd (for many reasons) but particularly for spending my weekends up to the elbow in mud!

[budgiebreeder]

It creates a lovely bond doesnt it.My eldest Grandson and i still laugh at the time he was asking " what are these Grandma " whilst sprinkling seeds all over my Greenhouse floor.I think each seed germinated i was digging cabbage plants up all summer.

[Garden Manager]

I suppose I have always had a passing interest in gardening. Both my mother and her father are/were keen on gardening. My grandfather had a large garden, growingmainly roses, alongside fruit and veg. I suppose i inherited the talent and enthusiasm from him though when he was at his peak as a gardener, I was too young to take too much on board, and as I said it was only a passing interest.

As a child we only had a smallish garden ourselves, which was a veg plot, rough lawn and a few small flowerbeds.  The soil wasnt very good so not much chance to learn and experiment with plants.

i suppose it wasnt until i was 18 and we moved into what was my other grandparents house (fathers side),  which is where i live and garden mostly now.  At the time it was very overgrown, and i guess it was the challenge of clearing, tidying and replanting that really got me into gardeing proper. At last here was a proper garden to get stuck into.

[tim]

I've always wanted to ask - hoping that 'the young' formed a fair part of the membership. But why do we stop at 56? What's magic about that?? = Tim

PS Most folk know - but since so many are adding their background, a reminder that father went into market gardening after his WW1 service, and I became the do-this-do-thatter in the hols.  Then the same in Jersey till WW2. And still the smell of soil does something to me. Well, no worse than handbags, which I read about elsewhere on the board??
45 years ago we had 2 lotties 'up the village' but, with only, at most, 1 1/2 days at home a week for 14 years, we retracted into our own bit.  Quite enough with creeping senility!

[RSJK]

well l was lucky to be born into a market gardening family.  which sadly went out of business about 25 years ago. But even so this did not stop my enjoyment at doing my own garden, must have started at the age of about 7 l think, due to being rather stupid a few years ago by lifting something way to heavy and cracking a bone in my back l can no longer work.  but this as not stopped my love of gardening, I recently (August) took on to over grown allotments, which are now allmost  dug, It takes me about 45 mins to dig a 20 ft row, but thankfully this does not ruin my love of digging, looking forward to eating fresh veg straight from the allotment now.  The only thing l wish was that they would teach the children of today more about gardening and the enjoyment of it at school like they used to do.   :P ::)

[budgiebreeder]

Yes i too remember having gardening lessons at school.But thought that it was because i was brought up in a farming comunity.There were only about 25 people in my village school.we were also taught to knit and sew both boys and girls.

[Palustris]

Funny,My parents did not like gardening and we lived till I was 16 in a terraced house with a back yard. But if you want to read about the beginning of my obsession, you will have to ask Doubledutch(Ina) or Lishka if it is worth the effort.
Soon after we got married we bought a house with a long garden and Anne asked me to dig it over for her. She was never allowed to touch it again. Now she does all the hard work and I wince.

[Mrs Ava]

Been a gardener for as long as I can remember!  I have my grandad (on mums side) to thank for my obsession with gardening.  It is his also!  We bore the rest of the family rigid when we are together.  Mum and dad were not in to gardening, altho mum is legendary at getting things growing from seed, so long as you can rescue them quick before she kills them!  I was in charge of the schools garden when I was a nipper, about 6 or 7 I guess.   Our kids love the garden too and Jessica who is nearly 5 is expecting an area of the allotment to grow 'her things in mummy!'.  What I love the most about the pair of them in the garden is their love of all that creeps and crawls.  Jessica loves worms, and loves them to death!  She has been know to play dolls houses with them!  And the pair of them have no fear of spiders and bugs, so mummy has to be very brave when they come running to her with a gigantic spider , I don't want them to see me terrified, as I don't want them to ever be terrified.  I agree, we need to get kids out there, let them feel the earht and see mother nature doing her thing!   ;D

[ciaozzy]

Okay so I lied, but I do have trouble in some pubs,, get out they shout.. you aint old enuff, now get out and dont come back... or is.. you've got a blooody cheek after last night ::).. cant wait for 24 hour opening.. could do with a few right now...

Babble

Oz

xxxx

[Tenuse]

I was not at all interested in gardening until I bought my first house in 1999. Before that I would cruelly laugh at a friend who watched Gardener's World religiously.

But, even though my garden is a paltry 5m x 6m big (ie. little more than a courtyard), I really got the gardening bug.

My other half is hoping that our recent allotment acquisition will stop me from pestering him to move to a house with a big garden, before he's "got the cellar done".

It will probably work... for a few years!

Now my Gardener's World watching friend laughs at me!

Ten x

[mysticmog]

My parents have always been well into gardening, and so was I when I was very wee, but I grew out of it and didn't bother for years and years.  

I lived and worked on a subsistence farm for a while a few years ago, and that got me going again, especially having to dig up any veg that we wanted to eat.  I've wanted to grow veg/fruit ever since, but living in flats without gardens for quite a while, I never got the chance.

Now I've got me lottie, all my growing dreams can come true  ;D