My First Green Living Experience

Gardening Nostalgia

I come from a long line of "country folk" who were cattlemen and black farmers. My grandparents gave us a healthy balance in the city with edible and ornamental gardening. I remember living in the heart of the city, having access to fig, persimmon, and kumquat trees. Occasionally, we'd see a cowboy once or twice a year from our neighbors who came from Texas homesteads.

We'd walk around our neighborhood looking for pecans to pick. I remember climbing my neighbor's shrub to steal pomegrantes. Thursdays were fruit truck days for the elders in our neighborhood.   I never knew my maternal grandfather---who grew tomatoes, okra, watermelon, greens, and other foods in the city---but my grandmother continued his tradition. She took me to local nurseries to find new trees and roses for her home.

My first green "experience" was exposure to growing  fruits and vegetables, and beautifying our property with plants and trees. Once I hit my teenage years, I only remember my grandmother's trees and plants. There were no fruit trucks at all. The growing latino community brought in lemon trees and chickens, but this was no longer accepted by the current residents. I don't remember having dangerously hot summers as a child nor having gripes about the utility bill then, like now.  But, we did worry about lead safety issues.

As an adult, I can't believe how ashamed I was of my "country roots."  Most of the people in my old neighborhood had roots in rural Texas, Louisiana, or Oklahoma. But, we didn't want to "look country."   I hated the "gossip-ridden" small town feel of my old neighborhood, but now I regret the lack of community and pride in our "family name."

Now, I long for that type of self-sufficiency.  No! I don't want to raise cattle.  And, yes! I am living in a fantasy! The uncertainty of the bad economy makes me long for hard work and simplicity over the complexities of debts, class, bureaucracy, and no community.

I'll strike a balance.

As a city dweller, I'll make do with urban life and green living.  I have no other choice.

I started with what I know best: cosmetics and hair products.

I can't wait to master food and ornamental gardening!

--Ann