Stewards of the Land

By Joanna Dunlap Kirby

Contributing gardening columnist, 

Owner and operator of a cut flower farm in Garrard County

 

As I look out at the rolling meadows and fields of Central Kentucky and see the early summer grasses swaying in the breeze, I am transported back to my childhood. 

Summers were spent outdoors on our farm or on the farms of friends. We rode horses into the sunset, chewed on stems of long meadow grasses and rolled down hills in gleeful joy. Many long hot days were enjoyed under the deep shade of the many trees in our yard. At night we tried our luck at catching fireflies and were lulled to sleep with the summer bugs singing their nightly songs. 

I don’t remember spending time glued to a television (or any time at all, as it was limited viewing in our house). My mother and grandmothers, mothers of friends and aunts, all had gardens filled with the fragrance of spring peonies, heady lilies and lots of dill for pickles. Windows were always open to the fresh air and were only closed with the sound of an approaching storm. 

At an early age, I was given several flower seed packets from my mother to plant in the ‘big garden,’ and I was so delighted when most of them sprouted (much as I am to this day). What a wonderful childhood we had growing up outside and feeling the world around us. 

Now, as I drive through the countryside, I see many of these old farms in danger of disappearing forever. Development is taking the place of this land, and unless we protect the land that we have, it will be bulldozed and asphalt will take its place. Once this occurs, it will never return to its original beauty. 

Where are we in all of this? 

Are we sitting on the sidelines watching as acre after acre is gobbled up for bigger and better stores, selling more things than we can ever use in our lifetime? What are we leaving to our children and grandchildren? 

Farmers and gardeners are stewards of the land without which we would not have food or the beauty of the earth. It’s time for each of us to take stock in where we are and what we have. Attend city and county meetings, ask questions when development comes knocking at your door or at the edge of your community. Have a voice when you feel threatened by what’s coming to your town. Many open forums are posted in the local papers, but some are not. Be aware and go online to see when and where they will be and then attend. We all have choices to make. Where we will go on vacation, what we will wear, where we will live, etc. We also have a choice as to what is allowed with local planning and zoning ordinances that are put in place to protect the land that we so dearly love. 

Remember, you may want to give your grandchild a packet of seeds to plant. It’s up to us to make sure they have a place to call their own to plant it. While you are out in your garden, take a look around. Make a mental inventory of all that you are blessed with and protect it so that others will one day enjoy it as well. Open your windows and breathe in the fresh air, walk barefoot in your yard, take time to smell the roses and remember days of your youth when that’s what we loved about summer.

(Note –Joanna grew up on farms in the historic and scenic Pisgah Pike corridor.)