As I was thinking about literacy this week,I began to think of the things that I am illiterate in. One thing that came to mind was my lack of knowledge about the earth and how to grow things. My mom, however, is extremely literate in gardening. I look at her garden and cannot tell the difference between a plant that has not bloomed yet and a weed. I do not know how much to water a plant, when to water a plant, how much sunlight a plant needs, or how much shade. My mom, however, knows the importance of all these things and more. She works on her garden all spring and summer. She knows how much care each different flower needs. Some plants are harder to care for than others (apparently). There are also plants that are more suited to Minnesota weather than other climates. When I look at my mother's garden all I see are the pretty flowers, while she is able to see and read so much more because of her knowledge about plants and the hard work that goes into gardening.
Sunday, May 10, 2009
Gardening
As I was thinking about literacy this week,I began to think of the things that I am illiterate in. One thing that came to mind was my lack of knowledge about the earth and how to grow things. My mom, however, is extremely literate in gardening. I look at her garden and cannot tell the difference between a plant that has not bloomed yet and a weed. I do not know how much to water a plant, when to water a plant, how much sunlight a plant needs, or how much shade. My mom, however, knows the importance of all these things and more. She works on her garden all spring and summer. She knows how much care each different flower needs. Some plants are harder to care for than others (apparently). There are also plants that are more suited to Minnesota weather than other climates. When I look at my mother's garden all I see are the pretty flowers, while she is able to see and read so much more because of her knowledge about plants and the hard work that goes into gardening.
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I laughed when I saw that you wrote about gardening because I almost did the same thing! I took pictures of my Mom's garden and everything! Anyway, I am in the same boat you are Mary, my Mom is an amazing gardener and thinks of just the right way to place all the flowers and knows what types of flowers and vegetables grow best at certain times during the season. Then there is me, who constantly has to stop and think about the difference between an annual and a perennial! I think this is an example of being able to recognize ones strengths and weaknesses in literacy, which in turn, may lead one to become more literate in areas in which he/she was not before. For example, I definitely hope to have my own garden when I have a house and I plan on using my Mother as a valuable resource, I know it would take me twice as long to try and figure everything out by myself!
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