By George Szabo

I was the primary beneficiary of a minor miracle that occurred last fall at the Montgomery Shakespeare Gardens.  There I was, raking leaves from the amphitheater seats at the gardens, in the process of accumulating volunteer hours as an Intern of the Capital City Master Gardener Association (CCMGA).  I had gathered 13 modest piles of leaves from the grassy seating area and started on the hardest part of the project, bending down and stuffing the leaves into one of those hard to handle big black plastic trash bags.  Just then a swarm of youngsters descended on the place, running up and down, like mountain goats on the many tiers of amphitheater seats.  Mom was also there overseeing the activities.  When I started picking up the leaves the smallest girl of that bunch came by, and I asked her if she would hold the black plastic bag open for me.  She glanced over my shoulder, looking to her Mom for approval, and agreed.  After two handfuls of leaves accompanied by my groans, she gave me the bag and she picked up the rest of the leaves in pile #1!  I thanked her and started to say good bye, when from behind my back came the rest of that mob, each bringing with them armfuls of leaves from the remaining 12 piles!  So, the miracle!  Thirteen piles of leaves disappeared into the black plastic bags, and I only bent down twice to bag them! 

Mom and I talked a little bit after the chores were done.  She told me that all of the youngsters were hers.  There were five of them, maybe six, and Mom told me they were all one year apart in age and liked to work together on projects of all kinds.  She said that she home schooled the entire family.  Can you imagine that?  At least five kids, all at different school levels, home schooled, with meals, laundry, housekeeping, and so many other tasks waiting to be done?  How in the world…?

In parting, Mom asked me whether her crew could help another time.  Wow!  What a nice experience!  I wonder what these children will be involved in in twenty years.  Even after knowing just a little bit about them, and watching them in action, I am more optimistic about the future.

I mentioned earlier that I was at the Shakespeare Gardens accumulating volunteer hours as I participated in a civic improvement project as a part of the requirements needed to earn a Master Gardener certificate.  In brief, the program is conducted by the Montgomery County Extension Office on the Atlanta Highway, across from Faulkner University, and consists of 12 classroom meetings.  An excellent Auburn produced text book is the core study guide for the course.  Experts in trees, lawn care, tomatoes, weed control, and a wide variety of other subjects, conduct the lectures and relate these talks to the text.  This program gives the participant a chance to improve their gardening skills, participate in beautification projects, meet others with similar interests and go on interesting educational field trips.  Last but not least, you will get some good exercise. 

 George Szabo, a Master Gardener of class 2016, lives in Montgomery.  For more information on becoming a master gardener, visit www.capcitymga.org or email capcitymga@gmail.com.