What Does Your Garden Grow?

An entry from a caregiving gardener submitted to our Facebook Fan Page garden contest, held in May.

This morning’s episode of Your Caregiving Journey reminded me of Donna Baldwin, one of our 1999 Caregiver of the Year award winners. In her story, Donna spoke about her new-found green thumb, grown after she began caring for her mom. I wrote:

Donna Baldwin readily admits to this: Fourteen years ago, she couldn’t keep a plant in her home alive. So, she filled her home with plastic plants.

Now, only one plastic plant adorns her home, serving as a reminder of what was. A little over thirteen years ago, Donna’s mother moved into her home, joined her husband and their two sons, then nine and 16-years-old. And, since then, Donna has had live plants in her home, all of which have flourished.

Connie Goldman, author of two great books (“The Gifts of Caregiving, Stories of Hardship, Hope and Healing” and “Tending the Earth, Mending the Spirit, The Healing Gifts of Gardening”) joined us this morning to discuss how the gifts of gardening can heal the heartache of caregiving. (You can listen to our show via the player at the bottom of this post.)

Connie shared some wonderful insights:

• Gardening creates a deepening of concentration and focus;

• Surrounding your caree with plants and flowers provides them an opportunity to enjoy nature;

• In a garden, you can be alone to touch the earth and yet feel so connected to others;

• Gardeners save our earth because you can never harm what you treasure.

Connie says she wrote her book about gardening because she wanted to learn the answer to this question: What grows inside you because you grow?

So, to all the caregiving gardeners in our midst, we ask the same question: What grows inside you because you grow?

Program Note:

• Your Caregiving Journey airs again next Saturday, August 14, at 9 a.m. CT. Sharon, who cares for her husband, will join us to share her caregiving story.
• Connie’s most recent book, “Who Am I … Now That I’m Not Who I Was? Conversations with women in mid-life and the years beyond” will be our November Caregiving book club pick.