I took photos of quite a few of the old posters that were on display at the Jacksonville Children's Museum when I last visited the kids. I have these on the desktop of my computer and they pop up every now and then. The display was an interactive one meant to show the children what life was like back in the 30-50's when war efforts overseas and troubles at home due to the depression were causing hardships to families everywhere. As much as things change, they stay the same don't they?

I think this is one of the things that drew me to the nursery business to begin with and what continues to make it a life that I want to wake up to every day. When you help someone build their first vegetable garden, plant that first seed, turn that first shovel of compost into the ground - you are planting something inside yourself also. Success can be spelled in so many different ways. Sure, money is one of them, but fortunately for me, it hasn't ever really been an important part of my life. Success this last ten years has been measured for me by the smiles on the faces of fellow gardeners when they harvested their first crop of carrots, or built that first trellis that withstood the winds of our valley, or got that rose to bloom and thrive in the desert. Success is taking a bag of soil and creating a living world under the ground, planting a small 4" tomato and harvesting enough at the end of summer to freeze 20 gallon bags of marinara sauce. Yeah, I guess you could say, after all these years, I still love what I do.

This second poster brings up another class that we have planned for the nursery this season. If you would like to contribute ideas and recipes we would love it. I never learned this particular skill as a child, or adult - but I have a few friends and fellow gardeners that are absolute experts on canning. I will keep you updated on the date, but it will be sometime late summer when the bounty of the garden is overflowing. Perhaps a "Best Pickled Beet Contest" is in order????? See you in the garden soon, Susan