"Color Our World--Passing On Our
Gardening Heritage"
"Color" should be a big part of
our gardening world as we implement the NGC President's projects of Golden Days and Plant It Pink. But color is
also very important in design--whether it be in flower arranging or
landscaping. It has long been proven that even the youngest child
appreciates bright colors so we need to consider using the beautiful
colors of the rainbow as we work in passing on our ardening heritage to
future generations.
One hundred years ago children did not need to be taught the importance of good soil. they worked the soil with their parents so that there would be food to eat and beauty from their mother's flower garden, which was grown from seeds carefully saved from her mother and grandmother. Today, however, few have an intimate relationship with the soil since urban sprawl, paved schoolyards, skyscraper homes and indoor activities insulate our children from "getting dirty." Yet every living thing owes its existence and survival to healthy soil which recycles nutrients, filters water, prevents flooding, and provides the particulates that help form water droplets and gases that moderate temperature and shield us from harmful radiation. One shovel full of nutrient-rich soil contains more species of living organisms than can be found above ground in the entire rain forests of the world. However most of our citizens live today as though the soil supply is inexhaustible. We poison it with salt and other chemicals, strip off the topsoil and allow wind and water to disburse the good soil into the oceans, leaving behind hard earth with little organic material in it. In the United States alone, six poinds of farmable soil is lost for every pound of food we eat. this statistic is more than doubled in the less developed nations of the world. We as garden club members must teach our members and our children to protect and cherish this life-giving resource. One way to do this is to involve the community in the NGC President's project Beautify Blight where children and adults can take an area that is dead orgaincally and turn it into a lush and productive community garden.
Franklin Roosevelt sad, "A man who farms his land to the waste of the siol or the trees destroys not only his own assets but Nature's assets." It is time that we as garden club members reclaim our assets and pass on our knowledge to our children. It is time that we make and cherish our good soil.
One hundred years ago children did not need to be taught the importance of good soil. they worked the soil with their parents so that there would be food to eat and beauty from their mother's flower garden, which was grown from seeds carefully saved from her mother and grandmother. Today, however, few have an intimate relationship with the soil since urban sprawl, paved schoolyards, skyscraper homes and indoor activities insulate our children from "getting dirty." Yet every living thing owes its existence and survival to healthy soil which recycles nutrients, filters water, prevents flooding, and provides the particulates that help form water droplets and gases that moderate temperature and shield us from harmful radiation. One shovel full of nutrient-rich soil contains more species of living organisms than can be found above ground in the entire rain forests of the world. However most of our citizens live today as though the soil supply is inexhaustible. We poison it with salt and other chemicals, strip off the topsoil and allow wind and water to disburse the good soil into the oceans, leaving behind hard earth with little organic material in it. In the United States alone, six poinds of farmable soil is lost for every pound of food we eat. this statistic is more than doubled in the less developed nations of the world. We as garden club members must teach our members and our children to protect and cherish this life-giving resource. One way to do this is to involve the community in the NGC President's project Beautify Blight where children and adults can take an area that is dead orgaincally and turn it into a lush and productive community garden.
Franklin Roosevelt sad, "A man who farms his land to the waste of the siol or the trees destroys not only his own assets but Nature's assets." It is time that we as garden club members reclaim our assets and pass on our knowledge to our children. It is time that we make and cherish our good soil.
Carolyn Patterson
South Atlantic Region Director
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