A Response to a Fellow Blogger

Category: gardens and old home renovation | Posted: Fri Nov 09, 2007 4:55 pm

As a result of the couple of blogs I have penned, I got a response from a reader who is involved in a very creative undertaking involving gardening, and she asked me to clarify my thinking on the kind of things I'd like to do. Responding to that person has forced me to sharpen my focus a bit more, and what follows is what I sent that person. Thanks for letting me share.

This will likely be far more than you want to know, but it may be helpful is understanding where I am coming from and where it is I might want to go. For several years I have occasionally addressed the question of what I want to be when I grow up, or, to put it differently, what will I do when I retire? I have never answered those questions to my or anyone elses' satisfaction for reasons that only a therapist could untangle.

But now I am 64. And I have no interest in asking, as the Beatles did, will you still need me, will you still feed me....? Daily I get mail from Medicare and from Medicare supplement companies reminding me in no uncertain terms that I really am 64, a number which is always followed by 65, and thereafter, by ever higher numbers (if you're lucky). I suppose I ought to be grateful that I am not getting mail from the company that makes Depends. But I suppose that is only a matter of time.

I have quite a good job and after I retire, I can reasonably look forward to a decent lifestyle. But that's not the issue. The issue is that when I step down from my currrent role, what will I do that is meaningful to me, that makes a contribution to others, and that, at the end of the day, leaves me with a feeling that I am doing more than occupying space.

For more than 30 years, the one thing that has given me the greatest pleasure is developing a series of gardens. So, it has been a common theme for me to think in terms of doing something related to gardening as I enter what amounts to a new career. For a long time, I could not decide on that that "something" is, and even now it is too shapeless for me to give a definitive answer to the question, "what are you going to do after you retire?" But, at least I know the general direction where the answer to that question can be found.

In the meantime, another factor have entered the picture that influences my thinking. It is a factor I have raised in my blog- the restoration of old homes.

My interest is not just in seeing that gardens are more available for people to see, or that garden events are better publicized, or that resources for gardeners are better known, or that people involved in old home restorations share what they are doing and celebrate their successes- my interest is not in any one of those things. It is in all of those things. And a good bit more besides.

I cannot overstate the impact that reading the British version of Country Living magazine has had on my thinking and outlook. The mix of articles, subjects, art work, etc. that I find there speaks to me in a very meaningful way. My response is always to feel like "gee, I wish I had something like this, but telling me the same kinds of things concerning the Carolinas or all of the South."

I do not know whether I would have eventually started the blog you have seen. But I was prompted by a colleague in the PR business who suggested that to do so might be a good first step in deciding how to proceed with my interests. And I do think that is going to happen.

If there is something I am moderately good at, it is coming up with an idea and then turning that idea into some kind of reality. That was the case a few years back when I created a radio program on the South, and kept it on the air for five years. But if there is something I am not good at, it is turning my ideas and realities into some kind of cash flow. I am no entrepreneur, or, if I am, I haven't discovered it yet. Maybe I don't have to be. I could fulfill my vision without payback, but payback sure is a nice side benefit.

I like what I see you trying to do with your online magazine. I hadn't thought of trying something like that before, but it is an intriguing concept. I'd even like to do a TV program on gardens and old homes in the Carolinas. I'll just have to see. But by virtue of having connected with you and others on GardenStew, I am already ahead in my thinking, and new areas of thoughts already have opened up. thanks!!

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glendann wrote on Fri Nov 09, 2007 5:11 pm:

I am 64 years of age also.I know what you mean about all the mail. I have retired from one job and will probably find 20 or 25 hours part time.I am not as speedy as I use to be .I've had to slow it down qiet a lot but I have traded my job for my yard work.Its nice to know you have the home you purchased to remodel and bring back to the beauty it was at one time.The yard will be wonderful to have for people to see and appreciate.

Droopy wrote on Fri Nov 09, 2007 5:33 pm:

You might find yourself a partner who can make cash out of the ideas, and build something worthwhile? People are good at different things.

GardeninVanGogh wrote on Wed Nov 14, 2007 12:53 am:

I am a gardening fan, in reality is my vocation. I have an intense dislike for the common place in gardening, design, plant selection and trends.
To keep my sanity I decided to start a blog in Spanish that no one reads, and visiting sites such as this to share my interests and to learn from people practicing gardening in other latitudes.
One thing that worries me is the influence that herbicide,fertilizer,fungicide,and
insecticide manufacturers have on the common citizen. I believe that gardening should be an exercise in good reasoning, permanent learning and skill development.