Who do you get your Green Fingers from?

[janeyo]

That's lovely Miffy

[FionaH]

My mum loved her garden first flowers then later veg. She used to make me weed which I hated.
My life has changed a lot in the last two years and the transformation from unkempt grass to a nice garden with veg and flowers is one of the changes.
I so wish I had paid attention to my Mum but I hope she would be pleased.
Second thoughts she would probably just point out where I had gone wrong

[Hans Mum]

my lovely dad, alhough as a child i didnt appreciate it and going to his allotment was more of a punishment than pleasure for me, funnily enough my lottie is on the site he used to be on so wherever he is i bet he's looking down and laughing at me cause the growing bug has well and truly bitten

[sharonr]

I got mine from my dad.
When I was little he had our garden, my grandparents and part of the house next door (where I now live) garden. He has always grown his own veg, half of the garden is still for growing veg and hes 77. I think he loves it that at least one of his children has followed in his footsteps and grows their own.

[allotmentlady]

I got mine from my dad.
When I was little he had our garden, my grandparents and part of the house next door (where I now live) garden. He has always grown his own veg, half of the garden is still for growing veg and hes 77. I think he loves it that at least one of his children has followed in his footsteps and grows their own.

awww that is so nice..........lets hope ur kiddies follow suit.....

[sharonr]

My youngest loves helping me out there.(Hes 14) He loves how you get something to show for all the hard work that we put in. I must admit though he likes pinching the peas

[janeyo]

Same here sharonr, my 4 year old likes to dig for treasure (ie potatoes). He normally hates them but if he's found them himself he eats them. Brilliant!

I also caught him showing his friend round the greenhouse in the summer pointing out his tomatoes

[sharonr]

I also caught him showing his friend round the greenhouse in the summer pointing out his tomatoes [/QUOTE]

Are they his tomatoes or yours?

[allotmentlady]

Same here sharonr, my 4 year old likes to dig for treasure (ie potatoes). He normally hates them but if he's found them himself he eats them. Brilliant!

I also caught him showing his friend round the greenhouse in the summer pointing out his tomatoes

awwww bless him.......

[janeyo]

Well, technically they are mine, but he did 'help' lots so I guess we share them! He goes round looking for pots that need watering, bless. Except he gets a bot bored after finding about 2. And he does love to pick the ripe ones but you have to watch him or he'll pick them all! He will only eat the tiny ones of those too.

However he isn't fussy over the sze of the strawbs or rasps he picks... nobody else gets any!

[geoff]

There's no history of gardening in our family We used to live in central Manchester where a blade of grass was a rare thing indeed Now I've moved, but the house is a modern semi, the garden is all subsoil, so I still didn't bother

Then I got a new job working shifts; 4 days on, 3 days off, rotating to cover weekends, so I often have time off midweek. The problem with that is that if you do work shifts there is a temptation to lie in bed till the pubs open on your days off.

I didn't want to spend the time in the house either, so something of my ancient 1960's past must have woken up, and I enquired about an allotment
Only waited about 6 months, so here I am Mind you, all my knowledge is from books so far, but I seem to be producing something. and it is supposed to be a hobby and interesting, not a task, so roll on spring

I try to spend a day a week at the plot, so in effect I have a 5 day week

[HotStuff]

Only started growing stuff last year, so can't claim to have green fingers yet, but if they do develop most of the credit goes to my father. Lots of very fond memories of when I was a young kid and he used to grow all manner of stuff. One of the biggest things I'm looking forward to this year is harvesting my home grown runner beans. When I was a kid the first lot every year was almost a religeous ceremony Suppose I'd have to give some credit to my uncle Jim too, he had a farm just outside Warrington and as a kid I used to love going up there during the summer and helping out.

[blue411]

My mum!
I always used to call her an old f**t and laugh at her in the rain tending to her garden, i never understood the passion she had, but now i have my own (well landlords) garden im loving it myself! i grow veggies while she loves flowers and trees etc..... my sister thinks its sooo funny that ive now turned into our mum!!

[Herbie]

Reading through this thread, I came across this poem which is vegnut signature line:
The kiss of the sun for pardon,
The song of the birds for mirth,
One is nearer God's heart in a garden
Than anywhere else on earth.
~Dorothy Frances Gurney, "Garden Thoughts"

This poem is very sentimental to me as I got my greenfingers from my mum, dad, grandad but also from my grandma. My grandma had this poem displayed in her garden for many years. She was a landgirl, so knew a thing or two. I now also have the poem displayed in my garden many years later. My Dad used to grow veg in the backgarden when we were little. When my parents separated my mum designed her garden and used to grow flowers from seed in the greenhouse which used to sit on my Dad's old veg patch

Mum and Dad both give me advice on growing but I've learn't lot from others too, my grandad used to have fruit bushes at the bottom of his garden and used to always have a shovel in the back of the car in hope of finding manure on his travels.

[janeyo]

That's lovely Herbie,
I hope dad had a few bags in his car too, or nobody would fancy getting in after he struck gold! lol