Mary Myrick

This is Mary Myrick checking in again with more interesting facts about gardening.

Don’t put on your straw hat just yet, but gardening is cool again. Today, our food travels an average of 1500 miles from farm to table—that distance has real ramifications on food cost, quality and the environment. With the recent economic downturn, a renewed interest in green living, and rising food prices, more young people are embracing gardening again.

But will these hipster gardeners have the same dedication to the task as their grandparents? And does a generation raised on fast food even have the know-how to successfully tend the earth? Like sewing or cooking, gardening is often a skill , or even an art, handed down from one generation to another. You can learn the same skills later in life, but it is considerably harder if you weren’t taught the basics of gardening as a child. Without the benefit of this early training, many young gardeners will find the experiment of gardening more challenging than initially expected.

But like any worthy objective, gardening brings at least as many rewards as it does challenges.

During World War II, Eleanor Roosevelt’s Victory Garden became emblematic of self-sufficiency, industry and enterprise. In 1943, Americans created more than 20 million Victory Gardens, accounting for nearly a third of all produce consumed. During these difficult economic times, planting a victory garden of your own can feel empowering and offers clear economic benefits. But will the thrill last when economic recovery fully kicks in?

Trends like mobile gardens, urban gardens and vertical gardens can make gardening seem new and help retain the interest of the next generation of gardeners. But in the end, what really sustains a gardener’s work is a connection between the grower and the earth, an abiding love for good, fresh produce and a tenacious commitment to coax life from the soil.

If gardening space is limited, consider a community garden to benefit several families or even an entire neighborhood.