04 June 2010

A gardener is someone who...

...can't resist planting anything with the potential to grow.


I found this hickory nut in the hayfield on 25 March (probably dropped by a squirrel). I potted it up, kept it in the fridge for a while and then placed it on a sunny window sill. Nothing seemed to happen for a long time, but in the last few weeks the nut sent up this delicate little seedling:


There are two varieties of hickory trees that grow in this area, the Bitternut (Carya cordiformis, whose nuts aren't edible (as you may have guessed)) and the Shagbark (Carya ovata), whose nuts are sweet. I'm hoping this is the latter (although if the squirrel didn't eat it, perhaps it's the other one!).

The other day I came up with another way of completing that first sentence: A gardener is someone who has to wash their hands before they use the toilet. Have you got a favourite definition of a gardener?

2 comments:

Northern Beauty Seeker said...

...is someone who can't walk from the car to the house without pulling a few weeds? ;)

Love the 'washing hands first' one!

Amanda said...

That definition sounds distinctly familiar, Ms. S!