So Many Dishes

When I retired from teaching, I began volunteering at our local botanical garden. I had experience at another garden years before, helping with their children’s tour program, so I was asked to serve as a docent, or tour guide, and gladly agreed.

I love the garden. It’s not large, but it has an interesting assortment of plants. It doesn’t have a collection of a specific type of plant, as some gardens do. Rather, it’s a series of composition gardens designed to inspire people as to what’s possible in their home gardens.

Alas, with the other volunteers, I feel like a weed in the garden. Many of them play a game of “I’m a better gardener than you,” constantly bragging about their home gardens, trying to outdo the others. Most have completed the training required to be certified master gardeners, and they looked down on me when I began my volunteer work because I wasn’t a master gardener. After I completed became a master gardener, I realized that they clearly hadn’t learned very much, because I have heard them give garden visitors as much wrong information as they have correct. They don’t seem to be able to say, “I don’t know.”

My response has been to limit my interactions with these people. I sign up to lead a tour, show up when I’m supposed to, and do my best to lead an interesting and informative tour. Afterward, I enjoy my time in the garden— on my own.