Plant A Garden

Edgar Guest, described as the People’s Poet, wrote 11,000 poems in the first half of the 1900’s. He was beloved by Americans though critics panned him. Whatever your thoughts, I hope you’ll enjoy this little ditty.

Plant A Garden

If your purse no longer bulges
and you've lost your golden treasure,
If times you think you're lonely
and have hungry grown for pleasure,
Don't sit by your hearth and grumble,
don't let mind and spirit harden.
If it's thrills of joy you wish for
get to work and plant a garden!

If it's drama that you sigh for,
plant a garden and you'll get it.
You will know the thrill of battle
fighting foes that will beset it.
If you long for entertainment and
for pageantry most glowing,
Plant a garden and this summer spend
your time with green things growing.

—Edgar Guest,  Excerpt from Plant a Garden

You can read the entire poem here or read more about Edgar Guest here.

This is my son’s rooftop garden in Downtown LA a few years ago. You can see more images here. Check out A Garden Can Be Anywhere by Lauri Krantz of Edible Gardens LA.

Start small—lettuce is easy in a container.

Then go bigger when time, space and confidence allow.