Grandpa and Gardening

I received my Pilot Log this week and read my column about my Grandpa and his garden.  Working with your hands in the soil teaches you a thing or two about life. 

I have a true city garden.  My yard is all bricks.  I am unable to dig the earth but I am able to use pots and buckets.  Even with my garden of pots and buckets, there is an ecosystem.  Grandpa taught me early about the ecosystem, and how to use our food waste to feed the earth worms in his compost pile so they will provide soil rich in nutrients for our plants.  Basically as a gardener, I am merely an observer of this world. 

Here are some additional lessons I have learned from gardening and grandpa: 

Build it and they will come – From your first turn of the soil, you learn that everything you do has an impact. Your effort is rewarded with vegetables or beautiful foliage. Your position in your club is the same, everything you do has an impact. 

Lay a good foundation and feed it often – I start with soil every year mixed with worm castings from my indoor worm bin that I collected over the winter.  It must be balanced just right and the same is true with your club, a leader maintains balance.

Selection is key – My impatient flowers grow to the size of bushes every year, finding out which plants do well together is a big part of gardening and selecting people to work together toward common goals and objectives is a crucial part of a clubs success.

Routine maintenance – Learning to follow the cycle of the seasons and when to weed and when to feed, when to plant and when to cut, and when to pull the entire plant out of the ground altogether. Great leaders follow the performance cycle and work with each person as an individual.

Expect the unexpected - I have come upon a petunia growing from the cracks in my sidewalk and a snap dragon growing between the bricks. 

Keep your eyes open –Be on the lookout for signs. Critters including bugs, raccoons, mice, and even birds all have an affect on your plants. The same is true for members within the club. Many things affect them and as a leader, you should remain observant rather than ignoring the signs of discontent or poor attendance.

Wear protection – because bad things happen to good gardeners. We wear gloves, eye protection, and we put on bug spray. Leaders should protect themselves from the unexpected by keeping up with trends, networking, and continuously improving your club’s visibility in the community. 

Humility is Inevitable – You can’t control Mother Nature. Storms, rodents, draught -- there are so many things that can happen in any given season. When you find yourself running out of the house in the middle of the night during a hailstorm to protect your newly planted vegetables, that’s when you learn to manage the things you cannot control. Being able to thrive in an environment where there is constant change requires a bit of humility, as well.

Look at the big picture – Understand your place in the ecosystem. Learn everything you can about your club, Pilot International, and its impact in the community.

It’s not personal – The ground hog is not really out to get me. Even though they have invaded my garden, I must remember they are just looking for food. When your club changes something that you feel is not in your personal best interest, remember that you are not the only member of the club.

Hang in long enough and good things will happen - The longer you garden, the more lessons you learn; the more lessons you learn, the less mistakes you make; the fewer bad experiences you have, the more you garden. So goes the ways of life.

So, as we finish our summer gardens and get ready for winter this season, take a moment to think about how the two are related.

In the comments below tell me lessons you have learned from your grandpa.