The Art and Craft of the Accidental Gardener
by Nancy Dorrans
If you have a garden and a library, you have everything you need. -Marcus Tullius Cicero, 43 BC
If you have a passport and a garden, you have everything you need. -Nancy J. Dorrans, 2017 AD
Accidental gardener Nancy Dorrans is a West End resident and travel agent at Adventure Marketplace.
Travel is my passion and vocation. Yet right now, gardening is my summer love. It happened quite by accident. Isn’t that what they say about love? You’ll find it when you’re not looking. It started with an invitation to help out with a community garden and not long after, this accidental gardener fell in love.
Gardening is creative.
My garden is a work of art. It is therapeutic. I’m creative in my garden, as it allows me to design and orchestrate with a palate of color, aroma and food!
Gardening teaches me patience. So agrees Maria of FarmCountryKitchen.com:
You notice plants that weren’t there before, and you can decide to let some stay just for fun … most important, gardening gives you time to think. Time to let your mind wander while your hands are busy. Suddenly, you have ideas, insights, happy thoughts, resolution to problems. So when the weeding is done, not only do you have a great sense of accomplishment and your garden looks tons better, but your mind has been weeded too. That just can’t be rushed.
Portulaca – self seeded from last year. -Photo by Nancy Dorrans
Gardening is spiritual.
Time stands still in my garden, and I am at peace. No news, no noise, just me and the growth. Recently my friend John Light told me this story about a city fellow who went into the country to find a plot of land to grow some grain.
-Photo by Nancy Dorrans
“So, this fellow knows nothing about farming or how to grow things but he wants to give it a go, and so he gets a plow, some irrigation equipment and some seed and whatever else he thinks he might need to raise a crop of grain,” says John.
“He plows, irrigates and plants and cares for his land, and after a period of hard work he has before him a field of flowing grain. The man looks up to heaven and says, ‘Oh, thank you, God, I couldn’t have done this without you.’
“God looks down and says to the farmer, ‘No worries, mate, I couldn’t have done it without you.’”
Gardening teaches.
As a travel advisor, inspiring explorer and accidental gardener, I’m learning all the time. Gardening teaches patience, and travel can transform lives and change perspectives. Both travel and gardening allow us to learn through experience. Travel shows us that people are different, but also much like ourselves. Gardening shows us the wonder of nature and what thrives. Travel teaches us about cultural blending, and broadens our sense of place. We become part of a global community. A community garden connects me with my neighbors and fellow gardeners in a beautiful and healthy way.
Crescent St Garden. -Photo by Nancy Dorrans
While our tomatoes, cucumbers, herbs, flowers, corn and squash of all sorts are coming into view, I’ve organized a few day tours to New Hampshire this fall. Canning, pickling and other ways of “putting food by” are in my future.
Upcoming Adventures
Also, look for adventures to Iceland in September; New York City in December, for the Rockettes Holiday Extravagaza; Quebec City for Winter Carnival in February; and a ski adventure to the French Alps during February break. And when next spring arrives, I’m planning a visit to Senator King’s office and the botanical gardens in Washington, DC, in April.
Travel and gardening… it’s what I love to do. Why won’t you join me?
Adventure Marketplace
Learn more about Nancy’s group trips or to organize your adventure, visit http://adventure-marketplace.com.
