The Gift of Giving

Did you grow up in an area where when you wandered the local streets there would be bags of citrus fruits out the front of people's houses waiting to be taken by those who needed them?

On the weekend we did a garden clean up.

The last of our building works are very nearly done and so we turn our efforts back to the garden.

As soon as the majority of the renovation was done very late last year I got the veggie beds ready to re-plant & started growing seedlings.

The beds are now filled with  Broccoli, Silverbeet, kale, Cime de Rapa and the now plentifully flowering Broad beans. The beds are looking verdant & plentiful.

As well as the veggies I plant a lot of herbs.

These are almost more important to me.  I use them in all of my cooking.
I can not imagine food without herbs & spices.

In our garden we have Rosemary, Oregano, Italian Parsley, Chives, Sage, Coriander, Tarragon, Thyme & Mint.

Our Rosemary bushes are in full flower and getting enormously BIG.

They needed a good ol' trim back & there was way more than I could possibly use.

I guess the trimmings could have gone in the green waste but I immediately thought to bundle them up & hang them on my fence to gift to those who needed it.

I shared my gesture on Instagram & my Facebook page and the response was phenomenal. It left me thinking. I hadn't thought that much of what I did. I just kind of thought it was a neighbourly thing.
The response made me think that maybe it was really unusual.
I was pleased that I had inspired others to give it a go too. Sharing ideas can be a really cool thing.
A way of giving others the courage to give something a try.

I have always loved giving away produce from my garden.  I always have more than I can use.

The past few weeks I have gifted several Edible Bouquets to friends- for birthdays and just 'because'.

I love giving.  It fills the heart. To see the joy of the recipient. A smile.  A hug. The pleasure of doing something nice for no other reason than that it feels good.  No need for a reason. No hidden agenda. Being good for the sake of being good. Sometimes it's not important to even see the recipient receive- it is just nice to throw a bit of kindness out to the universe and hope it gets caught by someone in need.

I encourage everyone to do it.
Let's all do it together this Spring.
Let's dust off the Winter grumps and leap into spring with the Gift of kindness.

The idea is to Give for no other reason than giving itself.  Maybe you will give something from your garden too or maybe it will be a random act of kindness, a donation to a charity via the Shout for Good app, maybe a cake to a pal who needs some sweetness, or a dinner for a family in need of a bit of support, or a letter to tell someone they are ace, or perhaps a note to a friend, or even just a hug- hugs are best!

Let's all dive in and give the gift of kindness this Spring.


I never tire of listening to Kurt......