Generational gardening: Passing the spade

We asked our Facebook community where their interest in gardening came from. Here are some of the heartwarming responses we received.

• My Grandad, he was an avid gardener. I remember as a kid we’d go round and pick his scarlet runners. Even once I’d grown and was out flatting, I’d come home from work and find a bundle tucked in the door handle from a sneaky driveby. There is something very therapeutic about getting dirt under one’s nails. Mel
• My grandfather was the most amazing gardener. He grew food for his family during the war and made sure everyone was fed. Growing up we would help with the preparation of meals using whatever was grown by him. Angela
• I would spend every summer holiday in the country with my grandparents and my grandad was in his big vegetable garden every night after work! I think it rubbed off on me! Yvonne
• My Dad always had a fantastic vege garden and loved growing something new, while my Mum loved her flower garden. As we lived next door to a nursery and garden shop both were in their happy space. I was always told that gardening was two pronged - growing food for the table and keeping a healthy mind. Judith
• My grandmother used to walk me around her garden in Nelson when I was a young child and tell me all the names of the plants. This memory stayed with me. John

Let kids take the lead on a small patch or container. Give them a few easy crops like strawberries , cherry tomatoes or radishes and let them learn by doing.

Tui Team member Lianne was given this gorgeous hippeastrum when her grandmother passed away. More than two decades later it continues to thrive and is a wonderful reminder of her grandmother who was a keen gardener.

Originally planted in Whanganui, these fourth generation family freesias fill Tui Team member Scott’s Pāpāmoa garden with their fragrant scent and cherished memories.