Gardening – A gardener’s legacy

I find gardening, particularly weeding, a good time to ponder life’s more abstract issues. One I’ve been considering lately is the legacy of a gardener. A truism is that one should never go back to a property once you’ve sold it. You are more than likely to be a little disappointed, or even heartbroken, to see what the new owners have changed.

In fact, when you look at the short span of a human life and look at the longer timeframe of a civilization’s progress, or the much longer timeframe of the earth, your efforts in the garden appear inconsequential and temporary. Progress can turn a once lovely garden into a motorway, townhouse development or shopping mall. And, as residents of the red zone in Christchurch discovered, and low-lying areas of New Zealand may find in coming decades, forces of nature can render human endeavour impotent.

Fortunately, we garden for more than just legacy; we garden for pleasure, food, relaxation, fitness and more. However, leaving a legacy is an important part of our psyche. This week I have been spending much time by the bedside of my 90-year-old mother as she slips toward peaceful oblivion. Her gorgeous and productive garden was left behind some 15 or so years ago, and she and I have never been back, as it would break our hearts.

Nevertheless, she has left a strong legacy behind. Of her six children, one daughter has created a magnificent estate of stately trees and a small but productive vegetable garden.

Another daughter has less of an ornamental garden, but produces large quantities of fruit & vegetables. The eldest son showed little early interest in gardening but became a notable beekeeper, and in semi-retirement is now planting a 100-acre farm with thousands of trees. The next son showed even less gardening aptitude, but he now also owns a farm with a good part of it planted in avocados. The third son, who was once impressed to see a ¼ acre property covered in green concrete, is also now the obsessed owner of an avocado orchard.

I’m the youngest and I suppose as the last, tagging around behind mum as she gardened, I was always more likely to become the keenest gardener. In fact, gardening became my occupation, hobby and indeed obsession as I moved through the various horticultural industries and a succession of gardens.

At times it hasn’t been the most lucrative of choices, but always it has been the most soul-satisfying. My two children have not shown much aptitude or interest in gardening yet, but looking at the experiences of my siblings, I can see now that by a process of osmosis the love of plants and gardening from my mother has filtered through the entire family. My children’s turn will come. And that is the true legacy of a gardener, not the garden itself, but the love of plants instilled in others.

Andrew Steens