Letters to the Editor

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Posted by @Sharon on
A successful site is made by the interest and the strength of its members. From time to time I receive from our members letters that are worthy of sharing. Today's letter is from Brenda Savage and on this Thanksgiving Day I'd like to share it with you.


As I sit here at 4:30 a.m., playing on the computer, chatting with my gardening friends from all over the world when I cannot sleep, it occurs to me how very thankful I am for what Dave and Trish have created.
2011-11-21/Sharon/c4f885
Once upon a time, many years ago, I was looking for gardening help on the internet and I stumbled across a website called “Dave’s Garden”. Though I cannot remember my original gardening dilemma, I do know that I got excellent advice and information almost immediately. And, to my surprise, I suddenly had new gardening friends! It didn’t take long to be invited to a garden gathering, and along with my (much happier) plants, friendships began to grow. At the time I lived in Arizona, and was mostly hanging out at the Southwest Gardening Forum. But, I then started to wander around the vast world of DG, and soon found myself making crafts I’d have never thought of, building ponds and water gardens, celebrating holidays and birthdays with people I’d have never known otherwise, laughing and crying with others over pets, and everyday life, and families, and of course, gardens.

And then, one day, the Big Bad Wolf came into my playground, and wreaked havoc. I was sad, as were so many of my friends. It was suddenly clear that these people had become very important to me, and we all vowed to find a way to stay in touch . . . though none of us was sure how we would do that. We tried everything, created accounts on other social networking sites, exchanged email addresses and phone numbers, but no one knew how our fractured garden would once again thrive with all of our friends.

So Dave created Cubits, a new and exciting and scary venue which would allow each of us to create and share and play once again. At first, cubits was a bit daunting to those of us that were not quite as tech savvy as others. But again our friends came to the rescue, teaching us all of the things we needed to know to move forward and again grow . . . and now almost any topic could be made into our very own cubit!

Sadly, the Big Bad Wolf had created enough damage that not all of our gardening friends could make the leap . . . the destructive chasm was too much for some to navigate. And what made this time so very sad is that a beautiful place that had been filled with love had become bitter, and divisive, and in essence, a lost garden. We all know that gardens don’t happen without tending, and care, and love. Even the greatest gardens will deteriorate without a kind and nurturing hand and heart. And what we didn’t know, through all of this, is that the Big Bad Wolf was still working hard at grinding out the very root of Dave’s Garden, Dave himself.

But Dave’s roots were strong, and with love and support from Trish and the community that he created, through perseverance and sweat and a belief in what Dave wanted his ‘garden’ to be . . . All Things Plants was created.

I must admit that at first I thought “not another website” . . . as I was already a bit overwhelmed with jumping from DG to Cubits. I thought it would possibly fracture us a bit more. I thought that perhaps we would lose even more friends in yet another tilling. I was wrong.

As in all good stories, good conquers evil. All Things Plants is a garden grown by the same loving hands that we know so well. It is tended to and fertilized; it has the same welcoming feel that allows us to share our own roots, our own friendships, and our own day to day concerns, wishes, and hopes. It grows as we grow. And, we still get to go play in our other playground, Cubits!

So, it occurred to me, while I was sitting here being thankful for ATP and Cubits at (now) 5:00 a.m., that a master gardener has been hard at work for the past several years . . . growing something much more than an online community . . . it is a real community. Dave and Trish have linked us all together in a much more real way than a hyperlink; they have linked us together through gardening. The kind of thing where you get your hands dirty, you plant and you tend and you wait, and then, you begin to see the rewards of your hard work. And when a crop or a plant suffers or fails, you do your best to heal it. I think that is exactly what Dave has done.

Thanks, Dave and Trish. What on earth would I be doing when I can’t sleep without you? And, how very crappy would my gardens be without all of the amazing help and insight I am lucky enough to enjoy, thanks to your work!

Happy Thanksgiving!

Brenda Savage
(bsavage)

 

~~~

Happy Thanksgiving to all of you from all of us at All Things Plants.

 
Comments and Discussion
Thread Title Last Reply Replies
A GREAT tribute to Dave and Trish by Mindy03 Aug 2, 2018 8:37 AM 32
I love it when this one pops up in the random ideas... by fiwit Nov 16, 2013 7:01 PM 0
We are grateful for all of you! by Trish Dec 1, 2011 9:48 AM 9
Master Gardener by flaflwrgrl Nov 28, 2011 5:50 PM 5

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