This year I’ve had a huge increase in requests for edible garden design and education programs relating to gardening with edibles. I know quite a few of these new clients are interested because of the vegetable garden the Obamas added to the White House earlier this year. Fortunately, my earliest gardening work was on our family farms raising our own food. Raising food is in my blood and in my soul, so I’m always thrilled to mentor others in the art and science of growing their own. It isn’t just about the health benefits that getting out in the dirt and doing the labor means. It isn’t just about enjoying the beauty of creating a veggie garden. It isn’t just about reducing our carbon footprint and petroleum consumption by growing foods as locally and organically as we can. It isn’t just about learning that real food doesn’t come out of a plastic bag or cardboard box. It isn’t just about correcting our health by reducing our consumption of processed foods. It is about all of these things and so much more.
In a recent interview with ABC News, Michelle Obama related her experiences and thoughts on health care reform. Gracefully, she connects the dots between diet, exercise and gardening to her family’s health as an example to all of us. I enourage you to watch the interview here for her own words.
Tags: eat local, edibles, Gardening, healthcare, Localvore, locavore, michelle obama, veggie garden
