Earth Day 2011

All day today my lovely daughter reminded me that today is Earth Day.  Every time she went to throw something away she checked to see if it could be recycled or not.  I am glad that they are teaching things like Earth Day in school.  Over at The Sage Butterfly a Earth Day meme is going on and I was invited by DD over at The Sundial Garden to join.  I have been busy and wanted to do the post some justice so I waited.  So on with the post.

I have been asked to list at least 3 books that I have read that have inspired me to live green in some way.  This was very hard for me.  I read a lot.  But after being in the Navy I wanted to get back to my roots.  My Grandparents on both sides of my family grew vegetables in their yard growing up.  I loved going out there and helping my Grandfathers pick them or just simply check them.  But some inspiration has indeed come from books.

Garden Up! was one.  I can't remember who mentioned it in a blog post one day but it sounded interesting.  So I got it.  What wonderful idea's.  A book that shows you how to garden in a vertical way not just in rows. Although many idea's are a good ways off for me to even think about implementing it did get me thinking about what I can do to garden in more unique ways and maybe better ways.  Living walls.

Greenhouse Gardeners Companion has also inspired me and taught me a lot.  Granted this was after I got the greenhouse and started my gardening journey but regardless that book brought a whole new passion to my love of gardening.  Although last year I loved gardening in the greenhouse this year I am smarter about it and bringing the passion to the rest of the yard as well.

Nora Roberts wrote a Trilogy based on the Garden.  Although not a gardening book I read this trilogy many times and loved the way these 3 women came together from very different walks of life and helped each other.  Being a romance book each book one of the women fell in love.  The first brought the new nusery manager and the landscaper together.  The 2nd book brings the home and nursery owner and a detective together.  But my favorite was the last book.  A distant through marriage relative and the owners son fall in love.  But the best part was when he created a flower just for her.  Through propagation and hard work he combined two flowers to make a new one.

I know it may  not sound like much but just the thought that his love for the Earth and his girl could create a new beautiful flower is inspiring.  I may not create a new flower or plant but I do get to take a small seed and watch it grow into something wonderful.

Gardening doesn't have to be just for food.  It can be for beauty.  Feed the birds.  Feed your soul.  Earth day is a day to appreciate the natural environment around us.  A day to get inspired on how to preserve that environment.