The Irresistible Pull of Spring: Lewis Gannett on the Gardener’s Instinct

On This Day
This botanical history post was featured on The Daily Gardener podcast:

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October 4, 1891

On this day, dear readers, we celebrate the birth of Lewis Stiles Gannett, an American journalist and author whose words not only graced the pages of newspapers but also captured the essence of the gardener's spirit.

Born in the waning years of the 19th century, Gannett would go on to leave an indelible mark on both the literary world and the hearts of gardeners everywhere.

Gannett's pen was as versatile as a well-stocked tool shed.

He crafted an impressive array of works, including The Living One, Magazine Beach, and The Siege. He even ventured into the realm of science fiction with two Millennium novels: Gehenna and Force Majeure.

But it is his musings on the joys and compulsions of gardening that truly speak to the soil-stained souls among us.

In his delightful tome, Cream Hill: Discoveries of a Weekend Countryman (1949), Gannett captures the irresistible pull of spring that every gardener knows so well:

But each spring . . . a gardening instinct, sore as the sap rising in the trees, stirs within us. We look about and decide to tame another little bit of ground.

Oh, how true these words ring!

As the last frost retreats and the first tender shoots of green break through the soil, who among us can resist the siren call of the garden? It's as if the very earth itself whispers to us, urging us to dig, plant, and nurture.

But Gannett doesn't stop there. With a wry wit that surely resonates with every passionate gardener, he goes on to describe the all-consuming nature of our beloved pursuit:

Gardening is a kind of disease. It infects you, you cannot escape it. When you go visiting, your eyes rove about the garden; you interrupt the serious cocktail drinking because of an irresistible impulse to get up and pull a weed.

How many of us, dear readers, have found ourselves in precisely this situation?

There we are, attempting to engage in polite conversation at a garden party, all the while eyeing that brazen dandelion that dares to rear its yellow head amidst our host's prized petunias. It takes every ounce of restraint not to excuse ourselves mid-sentence and tend to the offending weed!

Gannett's words serve as a delightful reminder that gardening is more than a mere hobby—it's a calling, a passion, and yes, perhaps even a delightful malady.

It's a pursuit that connects us not only to the earth but to generations of gardeners who have come before us, all driven by that same irresistible urge to nurture and create beauty.

So, as we remember Lewis Stiles Gannett on his birthday, let us embrace our "gardening disease" with pride.

May we continue to be infected by the joy of planting, the satisfaction of nurturing, and the sheer delight of watching our gardens grow.

And the next time you find yourself unable to resist plucking a weed during a social gathering, take heart—you're in excellent company!

Lewis Stiles Gannett
Lewis Stiles Gannett
Cream Hill by Lewis Gannett

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