Feverfew

The beginning of a new year is not a bad time to consider the benefits of gifts. Some seem inconsequential when they are received. But the original gift grows into something much more significant.

Right now, I am going through a stack of plant and seed catalogs and viewing websites with raised bed kits. While I am not the sort of gardener who can list different varieties of esoteric flower cultivars, I am serious about gardening. Aside from a few deprived years when I had no place to garden, I’ve had one since I was about twelve. It all started with one gift that cascaded into another and led to a lifelong interest.

When I was about twelve, my father moved the family from New York City into a smaller community on Long Island. There were real woods to roam in, streets with houses and not apartment blocks, and dogs roaming yards. Over a summer of walking past one particular yard, the dog that barked at me daily decided to walk alongside me companionably when I went by. We became friends. The lady who owned the house and parented the dog noticed the friendship. One day, she invited me into the yard. Aside from getting to know my dog friend better, I became fascinated with her garden. One day, she gave me a gift of a small potted plant, a feverfew.

I took the plant home and enlisted my father’s help in finding a place for it. Within a few weeks, my father decided to build me a garden bed for the tiny plant, some tomatoes, and what became a growing assortment of plants that we steadily acquired. Even after we moved back to the City, we managed to keep a tiny garden going.

Two gifts, a plant and a place to grow the plant, grew into a lifelong interest.

It’s not the size of a gift that matters. It’s the impact the gift has on your life over time.