I am reminded of this little poem each year at this time, when my garden hyacinths emerge with their delightful color and fragrance. Amazing how the labor of one hour of bulb-planting years ago continues to yield such beauty and joy.
Of course the notion of seeds-bursting-forth-into-bloom is a well-worn analogy to the work we do here each day. Even small charitable gifts produce amazingly powerful results. Mighty oaks from little acorns and all that. Perhaps a hackneyed comparison that I don’t need to belabor further…except to reflect upon how perfectly it just fits.
You’re encouraged to hear more, right?! Okay, here goes:
Apparently even a Casual Gardener like me can reap rewards from a few bulbs tucked into sandy soil. Likewise, at the Foundation we have endowment funds that were started in less-than-ideal conditions (a down market? a struggling rural location?). Consider the rural food pantry fund started in a mountain community in 2000 with a gift of $5,000. Now having grown over 1600% through additional gifts and investment, it annually receives nearly its original investment back in grants to provide food and medicine for low-income clients.
Of course, a more Deliberate Gardener will carefully assemble the tools and materials needed before venturing into the yard. Ditto the nonprofit organization that meticulously assembled a team of dedicated board members to raise a goodly starting sum for its endowment, then ensured that marketing and outreach continued regularly to nurture the fund. It’s not every local arts organization that can boast a robust endowment, but this one can and does.
Finally, the Master Gardener diligently researches appropriate soil and climate conditions and designs an Eden-like landscape to last the generations. Today we are amazed by the forethought of donors whose carefully planned bequests are maturing into significant charitable legacies.
Okay, enough. It’s a dreary rainy day as I write this, and I am grateful for your indulgence with my hyacinth-inspired musings.
And still, just think: tomorrow is another opportunity to plant – and to reap. And to imagine the blooms yet to come!
{"title":"Thoughts from a Casual Gardener","content":"<p><em>“If thou of fortune be bereft, <\/em><br \/><em> and in thy store there be but left<\/em><br \/><em> two loaves, sell one, and with the<\/em><br \/><em> dole, buy hyacinths to feed thy soul.”<\/em><br \/><br \/>― <a href=\"http:\/\/www.goodreads.com\/author\/show\/267703.John_Greenleaf_Whittier\">John Greenleaf Whittier<\/a><\/p>\r\n<p>I am reminded of this little poem each year at this time, when my garden hyacinths emerge with their delightful color and fragrance. Amazing how the labor of one hour of bulb-planting years ago continues to yield such beauty and joy. <\/p>\r\n<p>Of course the notion of seeds-bursting-forth-into-bloom is a well-worn analogy to the work we do here each day. Even small charitable gifts produce amazingly powerful results. Mighty oaks from little acorns and all that.  Perhaps a hackneyed comparison that I don’t need to belabor further…except to reflect upon how perfectly it just <strong><em>fits<\/em><\/strong>.<\/p>\r\n<p>You’re encouraged to hear more, right?!  Okay, here goes:<\/p>\r\n<p>Apparently even a <strong>Casual Gardener<\/strong> like me can reap rewards from a few bulbs tucked into sandy soil. Likewise, at the Foundation we have endowment funds that were started in less-than-ideal conditions (a down market? a struggling rural location?). Consider the rural food pantry fund started in a mountain community in 2000 with a gift of $5,000. Now having grown over 1600% through additional gifts and investment, it annually receives nearly its original investment back in grants to provide food and medicine for low-income clients.<\/p>\r\n<p>Of course, a more <strong>Deliberate Gardener<\/strong> will carefully assemble the tools and materials needed before venturing into the yard. Ditto the nonprofit organization that meticulously assembled a team of dedicated board members to raise a goodly starting sum for its endowment, then ensured that marketing and outreach continued regularly to nurture the fund. It’s not every local arts organization that can boast a robust endowment, but this one can and does.<\/p>\r\n<p>Finally, the <strong>Master Gardener<\/strong> diligently researches appropriate soil and climate conditions and designs an Eden-like landscape to last the generations. Today we are amazed by the forethought of donors whose carefully planned bequests are maturing into significant charitable legacies.<\/p>\r\n<p>Okay, enough. It’s a dreary rainy day as I write this, and I am grateful for your indulgence with my hyacinth-inspired musings.<\/p>\r\n<p>And still, just think: tomorrow is another opportunity to plant – and to reap. And to imagine the blooms yet to come!   <\/p>\r\n<p> <\/p>\r\n<p> <\/p>","excerpt":"<p>What are the rewards of a Casual, Deliberate and Master Gardener? You will want to read VP of Development Beth Boney Jenkins' latest blog to learn more!<\/p>","url":"\/blog\/thoughts-from-a-casual-gardener","publishedAt":1427806625,"media":0,"enableComments":false,"inMenu":false,"meta":null,"ordinal":0,"orderChildrenBy":"","id":"5f2ad5423cd54ff5884cb6544783f30f","parent":"e76aa785e2f140b6a8bdcb322b91b397","node":16913,"created":1533183560,"modified":1533183560,"fresh":1,"type":"post","children":{},"relations":{"author":[{"title":"Beth Boney Jenkins","content":"","excerpt":"","url":"\/authors\/beth-boney-jenkins","publishedAt":1395950211,"media":[{"type":"image","url":"https:\/\/nmcdn.io\/e186d21f8c7946a19faed23c3da2f0da\/7868d48393ef4e3bb7bca8cdf7bc2f20\/files\/Beth-Boney-Jenkins_2.jpg","title":"Beth Boney Jenkins","caption":"","size":"1515197"}],"source":null,"inMenu":false,"meta":{"title":"","description":"","excludeFromSitemap":"No"},"ordinal":0,"orderChildrenBy":"","permission":"write","tinyMCE_dummy":"","visibleTo":"Everyone","id":"62f2fb563e614303982c545c9f4db30e","parent":"289475e074af44b1acb7a469b62466d2","node":112256,"created":1535036011,"modified":1705590370,"fresh":1,"type":"a4794d6408d04576a7acdd10c3fd249d","children":{}}]},"permission":"read"}
