The White Thumb

-My mom ❤

Ever since I was a little girl I have been around gardening. My wonderful mom was a stay at home mom of two who spent a lot of her time in the garden while my brother and I played. During the weekends we would get together with my two aunts and my cousin to head to the best local nursery Oakland Park Nursery where there were tons and tons of beautiful plants and a little play area for us kids. When I say weekends, I literally mean every weekend. Gardening is something that is deeply ingrained in me by now because of those things I experienced and I am eternally grateful. At the time I remember not hating it, but also sometimes not loving it since we did it every weekend. The one thing I always did look forward to is Oakland Park’s flavorful candy canes they had all year round. Not to say that our moms bought us one every time but often!

-My cousin and I in my moms garden.

While I may not have noticed I appreciated spending time in the flowers with my mom when I was young, I do have fond memories of being outside and walking through the path my mom had in the garden. Some of the memories that stand out in my mind are funny. One of them being when I discovered centipedes for the first time and collected tons of them in my little hands until they were full. Once I got rid of them my hands had a very distinct smell on them, so I never did it again. Another one was me sobbing while picking out a pretty area in the garden to bury our beloved guinea pig Bubba making sure he was in a beautiful spot when he was laid to rest. I also used to make mud pies with some of the berries that grew on our shrubs and so many other things just like that. AH such a lovely time for me and yet I didn’t really start to get back to my life in the garden fully up until this year at the age of 32.

-Enjoying my parents backyard at the house I grew up in.

Having a permanent home has allowed me to settle in and really get back to who I feel like I am to my core. Gardening is peaceful and when i’m doing it nothing else really matters. I feel grounded and it is nostalgic for me. The smells, the views, and the sounds take me back to those good times I had with my momma and it feels like home. Now its MY turn! I can work with my husband on making our house beautiful and I want to share it with our future babies. I want to create memories outdoors with my family similar to the ones I had when I was little!

Honestly, I think this is what 30’s are all about. Getting back to your roots and realizing you can relive your childhood again as an adult on your own terms. Do the things that bring you serious joy and cut out the rest of the bullshit life throws at you throughout your 20’s. You’ve done the things other people have told you to do and now it’s time to do things for yourself in your own way. These thoughts make me excited to grow old and while I know getting older has its shitty things, I plan on focusing more on the positive things, in knowing myself and what I need more than I ever have. I truly feel that nature brings us back to ourselves and I will be forever grateful my mom introduced me to gardening. Thanks momma, I love you!

Let the journey begin!

-Happy Gardening