FIRST SLOW FOOD, NOW SLOW GARDENING!

I have one last thing to share with you from the latest issue of Mary Jane's Farm (Feb-Mar 2010). I'm sure, by now, most of you have heard of the Slow Food movement, but have you heard about Slow Gardening? Garden-writer Felder Rushing, who used to write for Southern Living I believe, is now sending out a surprising message to gardeners everywhere: reject hard work, tidiness, and precision. Apply seasonality to the way you think about, cultivate, and use your food. Relax, and work more closely with nature. "Slow gardening is an attitude, not a how-to," Rushing explains. "Use your senses, connect with a satisfying chore, and do something useful instead of just sitting there polishing your silverware." He believes that slow gardening is for everyone, including those in cities and suburbs. "If you like to cook with herbs, grow some in a pot on the balcony. Just one or two or three or four containers are plenty enough to make you feel useful and in at least some sort of control over your life." You can visit his website for more ideas on how to have a fun, pretty, productive garden, without being too uptight!