‘WEIS’ WORDS: You grow with it.

Those are the “wise” words from Mary Maxine Weis of Emporium on
the power of gardening.

She spoke to us earlier this week after we had written a column
about the possibility of having community gardens come back in
vogue, much like the Victory Gardens in their day.

But first, the essentials.

Mary tells us her snowdrops have been out for some time. From
their vantage point on the north side of the street, they benefit
from bountiful sunshine. In fact, Mary tells us that she can rely
on the sun taking care of at least some of the snow in her
driveway.

Normally, the snowdrops are about 4 inches out of the snow but
are a little behind schedule. That’s not because of bad weather,
though, but good weather. These little bloomers do better when
covered in snow. Her daffodils are also out.

A pair of North Carolina chickadees are busy building on her
stoop. “I wait for the cedar wax wings,” who love the berries on
her soft holly bush. 

“There’s so much to it. There’s so much to nature,” she said,
indicating how plants and animals are connected.

Mary, who will soon be 89 years old, loves her gardening. She
has gotten her “master’s” in gardening and, with her Garden Club,
helps schools and residents in town learn the tricks of the
trade.

Her own garden is a raised bed so she doesn’t have a lot of
rocks and weeds. She had so much parsley last year that she took
some to the store so they could give it away to customers.

Mary remembers that there used to be gardens down at Zito’s
corners where the owners would even rent out pieces of land for
gardening. No more.

“I’m hoping people teach their kids,” Mary said.

She had a small patch as a child and has passed lessons learned
to her own children. A daughter, a harpist in Camden, has a box
garden on her porch, and works with others in passing along these
specialized techniques. Her son, a doctor, uses gardening to unwind
after long days.

Meanwhile, Mary is getting rid of all her canning jars, giving
them away to eager young people. 

“We’re all busy. But just take a half hour and try. Plant a
bush, plant a tree.”

“You grow with it.”