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Quote of the Day: Alys Fowler

September 15th, 2009

Our modern world has become very unrewarding – that long commute to nowhere with the only treat being a shopping trip on the weekend. When you grow your own vegetables, make your own teas, or recycle your kitchen waste in a bin that you made, you are taking control. You are rewarding yourself instead of waiting for someone else to. You are transforming your world by your rules and, by expressing your life creatively,
the unexpected thrives.

-Alys Fowler, Garden Anywhere

San_Marzano_tomato_plant

Is gardening, composting, preserving rewarding for you or do you do them for other reasons?

11 Comments to “Quote of the Day: Alys Fowler”
  1. kristin @ going country on September 15, 2009 at 7:44 am

    Actually, the most relevant part of that quote for me was the part about taking control. I’m something of a control freak, so that’s one of the main reasons I do it–providing myself with my own food makes me feel kind of . . . powerful.

    Plus, it tastes really good. Always a bonus.
    .-= kristin @ going country´s last blog ..Let’s Play Culinary Tourist =-.

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  2. KitsapFG on September 15, 2009 at 8:42 am

    Actively living requires participating in the labor of sustaining your life. Passive living has those vital necessities managed by someone else.

    I choose to actively live because I find a greater sense of purpose and worth in my everyday existence. This is in addition to the benefits of ensuring that I know what has gone into my food and having food that tastes better than that which I can purchase.

    I am very much rewarded by the act of gardening as well as from the harvest itself.

    Reply to KitsapFG's comment

  3. Thomas on September 15, 2009 at 8:58 am

    That “long commute to nowhere” is the perfect way to describe the current state of things. We’ve become so distracted these days by high tech gadgets, making money, paying bills, making money, political sideshows, making money…that we’ve lost track of ourselves somewhere along the way. It’s time (for me at least) to get off of the modern day rat race.
    .-= Thomas´s last blog ..Pie: An American Tradition =-.

    Reply to Thomas's comment

  4. Mike on September 15, 2009 at 11:36 am

    What a great quote, I will have to check her book out…I need to become better at container gardening, and it sounds like she covers that in her book.

    Your San Marzano? tomatoes look wonderful.
    .-= Mike´s last blog ..Harvesting Onions =-.

    Reply to Mike's comment

    • Susy on September 15, 2009 at 11:57 am

      Yep, these are the San Marzanos!

      Reply to Susy's comment

  5. the inadvertent farmer on September 15, 2009 at 12:05 pm

    My biggest reason if for the health of my family…simple as that! Kim
    .-= the inadvertent farmer´s last blog ..Fun Do It Yourself Project with Chalkboard Paint =-.

    Reply to the inadvertent farmer's comment

  6. Conny W. on September 15, 2009 at 2:32 pm

    Gardening, composting, making things, etc. brings me a sense of peacefulness I can’t find anywhere else. It’s what I daydream about when I am at work.

    Love the quote. Must check out the book (when time allows).
    .-= Conny W.´s last blog ..CLOTHESPIN by Ann Quinn =-.

    Reply to Conny W.'s comment

  7. Isabel@fennelandfern on September 15, 2009 at 4:27 pm

    I’m a massive fan of San Marzano as well – grown them this year, and they crop so heavily!

    I love the quote. For me, the great joy of gardening has always, ever since I was a child with my first flower patch, that of losing myself in another world.
    .-= Isabel@fennelandfern´s last blog ..Real gardening, by Lucy =-.

    Reply to Isabel@fennelandfern's comment

    • Susy on September 15, 2009 at 4:44 pm

      I’m hoping to grow more next year. I really like San Marzanos as well.

      Reply to Susy's comment

  8. MAYBELLINE on September 15, 2009 at 11:47 pm

    Tastes great and I feel accomplished. Less dependent.
    .-= MAYBELLINE´s last blog ..Sweet Peas =-.

    Reply to MAYBELLINE's comment

  9. Karla on July 29, 2011 at 2:20 pm

    I like getting to know plants by seeing their life cycles in my garden, and growing things with purposes for bees, butterflies, hummingbirds, and me.

    Reply to Karla's comment

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This is a daily journal of my efforts to cultivate a more simple life, through local eating, gardening and so many other things. We used to live in a small suburban neighborhood Ohio but moved to 153 acres in Liberty, Maine in 2012.

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