“A Harvest of People”
Let us give thanks for a bounty of people.
For children who are our second planting, and though they grow like weeds and the wind too soon blows them away, may they forgive us our cultivation and fondly remember where their roots are.
Let us give thanks;
For generous friends…with hearts…and smiles as bright as their blossoms;
For feisty friends, as tart as apples;
For continuous friends, who, like scallions and cucumbers, keep reminding us that we’ve had them;
For crotchety friends, sour as rhubarb and as indestructible;
For handsome friends, who are as gorgeous as eggplants and as elegant as a row of corn, and the others, as plain as potatoes and so good for you;
For funny friends, who are as silly as Brussels sprouts and as amusing as Jerusalem artichokes;
And serious friends as unpretentious as cabbages, as subtle as summer squash, as persistent as parsley, as delightful as dill, as endless as zucchini and who, like parsnips, can be counted on to see you through the winter;
For old friends, nodding like sunflowers in the evening-time, and young friends coming on as fast as radishes;
For loving friends, who wind around us like tendrils and hold us, despite our blights, wilts and witherings;
And finally, for those friends now gone, like gardens past that have been harvested, but who fed us in their times that we might have life thereafter.
For all these we give thanks.
– Max Coots
From 2003-2013, Jim McLain wrote a gardening column in the Yakima Herald-Republic. He offered “A Harvest of People” in a Thanksgiving column, and Yakima’s Master Gardener writers have adopted it as part of their tradition.
What are you thankful for?
We hear this question often and in the month of November we even have a special day to give thanks. As gardeners we have so much to be thankful for. Anyone interested in gardening can never be bored in Yakima.
Our beautiful weather helps us grow so much, the beautiful flowers and of course that great food we love.
For this writer, I am thankful for my fellow Master Gardeners who share so much with the Yakima community and with each other. We are proud of those who mentor kids or work in the Heirloom and Demonstration Gardens. Those who volunteer in the West Valley Food Garden raised over 3,000 pounds of fresh produce and donated it to local food banks this year. Many give the best advice in our clinics, and share what they’ve learned in free garden classes for the public all through the growing season.
But we sure like to share with one another, and I’m thinking many of you do this as well.
Sharing plants does more than just filling an empty place in another garden. Our gardens tell stories and teach us history lessons. As you work in your gardens this fall, take note of the origins of the plants you have. Not just that the iris is native to Greece or your rosemary came from the Mediterranean, but perhaps that the origin was a gift from another gardener.
My garden is so thankful for the amaranth from Kelli that truly keeps on giving, the many colors of iris from Lavonne, those tulips from Janice, a pinkish peony from Sue, the Siberian iris from Jenny, a peachy-colored canna from Carol, a birthday gift of rosemary from Laura and garlic from our Master Gardener seed library.
Why not do some gifting from your garden this fall and winter?
Who doesn’t like a swag or wreath made from those ornamental grasses and seed pods, a tiny bowl of acorns to add to a side table or beautiful leaves pressed by you? Gleanings from your garden might be those late carrots or beets you are now starting to harvest. And who wouldn’t want a nice butternut squash? Many annual flowers can be sown right now so that winter moisture will give them a head start. Gather seeds from your garden, package them in small seed envelopes and share now. Any of these gifts from the garden will be so welcomed and thanks will come your way.
“Thankfulness is the beginning of gratitude. Gratitude is the completion of thankfulness. Thankfulness may consist of merely words. Gratitude is shown in action.” –Henri Frederic Amiel.
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