March 02, 2019 at 05:05PM

from Instagram

#greetthegrower day 2: how you started I started as a little tyke helping my Mum in the UK in the 1960s. She grew veg and small fruit in our 16’ wide by 40’ long back garden, the old lady next door’s back garden, and an allotment down the road. It wasn’t as much fun as parents now have with their kids in the garden; ours was a “do as you’re told, and no back talk” kind of family. There was lots of weeding. However, it must have stuck, because everywhere I lived afterwards, from Uni dorm room to my current garden, I have grown things, mostly food, but also 135 houseplants in my first apartment when I emigrated to Canada in 1981. It was hard to find a pic for this! Back in the 1960s my Dad was the photog and he didn’t think gardening was interesting, so there are no pics of that, and barely any of the back garden itself. This one shows a bunch of cousins having fun at a family gathering. See the swing set on the left? And up and to the right, the patched gap in the glass “conservatory “ roof? My cousin Mary was on the swing one day, swinging energetically, and her shoe flew off. It described a graceful arc, right through the glass roof. Oops. #1960s #conservatory #swingset #backgarden #gardeners #gardenhomestead #meetthegrower