tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3979501558241561585.post1835342885638576154..comments2023-11-02T07:09:21.601-07:00Comments on Local or Express?: Delights of the GardenRobin Aronsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03080623538120396969noreply@blogger.comBlogger4125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3979501558241561585.post-5078482412947503212009-04-03T14:46:00.000-07:002009-04-03T14:46:00.000-07:00I just wrote a long comment and lost it! Grrrr.......I just wrote a long comment and lost it! Grrrr....But I can the delights of the garden, Sue...and I believe I should start with the books by the guy who had time to write them because he had a gardener! So it goes. Thank You for the essay!Robin Aronsonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03080623538120396969noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3979501558241561585.post-40041683238443889572009-04-03T11:25:00.000-07:002009-04-03T11:25:00.000-07:00Thanks for the link, Robin! (And yes, of course yo...Thanks for the link, Robin! (And yes, of course you can call me Sue!) I found that NYT piece annoying as well. <BR/><BR/>I think you should read Beverley Nichols whether or not you have a garden--his books are of the witty articulate gay fellow living in crumbling mansion with eccentric neighbors variety (circa 1945-55) and are really quite charming and funny. <BR/><BR/>I love my gardens (I have one community garden and one at home), but it's definitely a commitment. This time of year, I start feeling overwhelmed, and I haven't even done anything yet, and then by August/September, I'm cursing my bounty as I make vats of sauce to freeze. There are idyllic moments, certainly, and I particularly enjoy the morning stroll with my tea to see how things are doing, but there's also a lot of ruined fingernails and guilt that you're not doing more. I am envious, sometimes, that Beverley Nichols never had to ruin his fingernails since he had other people planting (and weeding) for him. Ah well. He eventually couldn't afford his own lifestyle either.Sue Dickmanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06964270562532579030noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3979501558241561585.post-64184861398253662092009-04-02T19:06:00.000-07:002009-04-02T19:06:00.000-07:00Yeah, I know what you mean. I didn't like the who...Yeah, I know what you mean. I didn't like the whole "I'm going to avoid sentimentality by counting my pennies" thing. I remember an article last year about people tarting their own gardens - I blogged about it. I liked it! The people in it were making reasonable choices with their time and their money and they weren't smug about it. That's the difference - you can afford Whole Foods -- or be willing to pay a premium for sustainably grown produce at a farm market -- and still want to have the experience, and savings of a kitchen garden -- its the explicit trade off between sentiment and moola, when the guy doesn't have to trade either. I don't know, I'm glad you didn't like it either.Robin Aronsonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03080623538120396969noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3979501558241561585.post-83425948451599644212009-04-02T18:33:00.000-07:002009-04-02T18:33:00.000-07:00I imagine someone at the Times generating a list o...I imagine someone at the Times generating a list of domestic arts (gardening, knitting, canning) that they assign to a random hipster and ask for a 500 word essay about the hilarity that ensued. I also found the essay insufferable, because this is a guy who can afford to shop at Whole Foods but decided that it would be a gas to grow his own artichokes. Not to be Debbie Downer, but people in, say, Cuba, started their own veggie gardens out of necessity. Not because hilarity would ensue.roninoreply@blogger.com