Gardening Geek: 50 and Over Edition

You might be a gardening geek 50 and over if…

You realize that a bucket list might be something other than a list of buckets you use around the garden. Bonus points if your other bucket list includes some flowers you still want to grow and some gardens you still want to see.

You think that “point and tell the young man where to dig” is an excellent method for digging holes or removing a bunch of sod, like Cindy at My Corner of Katy did. Ditto for spreading mulch. Bonus points if you have actually used this method.

You’ve spent so much time with your hands in the dirt that before you go to shake hands with someone, you automatically clap your hands together to knock the dirt off and then sneak in a quick wipe across your backside to make sure the dirt is really off your hands. (This is also known as the universal gardener’s hand shake… clap, clap, clap, wipe… now you are ready to shake hands with someone.) Bonus points if you actually tried this method as soon as you read this.

You’ve learned that the best time to plant a tree is 20, 30, or 40 years ago and you realize you really did plant some of your trees 20, 30, or 40 years ago. Bonus points for every tree over 20 years old that you’ve planted.

You check the medicine cabinet to make sure it is stocked with post-gardening medications for aches and pains before you head out to the garden for an afternoon of digging and hoeing. Bonus points if you just now thought, “Hey, I do need a new tube of Bengay® cream before spring.”

You buy a magnifying glass to read the fine print on the seed packets, but you tell everyone it is so you can get a closer look at the flowers and bugs. Bonus points if it is a nice, big magnifying glass and not a kid’s “Winnie the Pooh” version.

You think the person who invented the kneeling pad with the handles to help you get back up is an absolute genius. Bonus points if you have one of these and use it.

You find an old box of seeds in the potting shed from 20 years ago. Bonus points if you thought about testing the viability of the seeds because you’ve learned that money doesn’t grow on tree and gosh, seeds today cost a lot more now than they used to!

You understand that what’s old is new again so you still read your 1961 edition of “How to Grow Vegetables and Fruits by the Organic Method”, edited by J. I. Rodale and staff, looking for new old ideas. Bonus points if you have more than five gardening books that were published more than 25 years ago. Double bonus points if you bought some of those books yourself when they were first published.

You wear a wide-brimmed hat in the garden to keep the sun off your face and neck and don’t give a darn how it looks. Bonus points if you have more than one such hat.

You are actually excited to qualify for membership in the Society for Gardeners Age 50 and Over. Bonus points if you got in on the first round of voting.

You realize it is no longer necessary to explain why someone as young as you are is so interested in gardening, but you are confident that you did all you could in the decades before you turned 50 to show that gardening is a great way of life for persons of all ages.

A gardener may confess her age, but she shouldn’t reveal how many points she scored on this little test of gardening geekiness!

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You might also be a gardening geek in other ways, such as …

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