Last summer, Nia and I stopped at Home Depot as part of our preparations for Kazakhstan. I can’t remember what we actually needed to get, but I do remember how transfixed we both became by the endless “wall of seeds” showcasing every flower, fruit or vegetable you could possibly dream of growing. Visions of massive gardens and overflowing flowerbeds instantly filled my head and I could tell Nia was feeling it too. I swear they were calling out, “Pick me! Pick me!”
“Can we get some Mom?,” she asked. “Sure. Why not?” I replied. And with that we both started grabbing, our excitement growing with each pull from the wall. And once they got pulled, it was so hard to put them back. But then I figured, why bother, since they were cheap to begin with AND half off because it was end-of-season. And that, my friends, is how we ended up with 38 packets of seeds.
So here’s where the problem came in. I didn’t actually know how to garden, nor did I feel motivated to learn on the internet. You see, last time I bought boatloads of seeds it was for Malawi, but the difference then was that I just handed them over to our full-time gardener and “poof”—flowers and vegetables magically showed up a few weeks later!
The tension built as winter turned to spring; the seeds seemingly staring me down saying, “What’s the plan here??” I tried several times to get started, but the magnitude of the task inevitably sent me into overwhelm. Things were not looking good and my guilt was building because I’d bought all these seeds and didn’t want to waste them, but also lacked the know-how to succeed. “Why, oh why had I bought so many seeds??”, I lamented more than once. I’m sure you’re thinking, Sarah, just give away the seeds? OR Just forget about it or plant a couple with no expectations. But there WAS a part of me that wanted to do this, I was simply stuck in the execution part (which, let’s be honest, is very unlike me).
I grew tired of stressing myself out over the seeds and decided it was time to do something about it when I got back from London. My plan was to find a local gardener who would work with me to plant all the seeds and teach me how to take care of them. Challenging because I’d have to learn all the Russian nouns and verbs related to gardening, but more feasible than doing it myself. As with many things, I started by reaching out to the women’s group I belong to. I often joke with my husband that, “If someone in the women’s club doesn’t know, it doesn’t exist” because they’re THAT GOOD of a resource.
Imagine my delight when a new German acquaintance responded to my post saying she could help me. An English-speaking, horticulture major who is willing to mentor me in gardening? How did I get so lucky?? Little did I know the delights she had in store for me—things like a customized 12-page guide + the most glorious color-coded spreadsheet showing all the items we were going to plant. This was turning out better than expected…
Part 2 Coming Soon!
