The Heirloom Obsession That Grew a Garden — And a Gardener

Matt Gottsman recently wrote, “ Your obsessions aren’t distractions — they’re signposts to the work only you can do.”
That line struck a chord so deep, it echoed. It reminded me that what pulls at us repeatedly isn’t random-it’s a calling.

His Substack is called The Niche Is You, and honestly, I’m a little bit in love with that. The name itself feels like a mirror and a map. And it made me reflect on one obsession that’s quietly shaped my world: heirloom gardening.

Until 2020, I thought heirlooms meant jewellery, sarees, and family artifacts passed down through generations-things with history, but rarely daily use. Then I met heirloom tomatoes.

Colour me obsessed.

There’s an entire world of tomatoes out there:

Some are striped, others speckled. All have stories. And those stories pulled me down a rabbit hole I have not yet wanted to climb out of.

It started with tomatoes. Then came the beets, carrots, radishes, beans, eggplants, peppers, and peas. I began saving seeds, buying rare varieties, researching plant histories like family trees.

Now?

• An entire refrigerator for my seed collection.
• And a heart full of joy every time something sprouts.

Friends have noticed. “You light up when you talk about your garden,” they say. “You should do more of this.”

They’re right.

The most unexpected joy?
Passing this love on to my three-year-old nephew.

He has claimed ownership of the garden. I am merely the “guardian.”
He proudly gives garden tours with the kind of confidence only ownership can bring.

He gently shakes each tomato flower and whispers, “Become a tomato.”
He saved seeds from a bitter gourd and insisted on planting them.
They all germinated. One is already flowering.

He’s not just a green thumb. He’s a green-hearted soul. And I get to witness it.

Gardening taught me that heirlooms aren’t limited to articles from the past. They’re also the passions, knowledge, and joy we pass on intentionally. They root us to something real. Something alive.

What started as my quiet obsession became something much more:
A bond.
A ritual.
An inheritance in bloom.

Do you have an “obsession” that fills you with quiet joy? Something you could pass on to someone you love?

Maybe it’s time to follow that breadcrumb trail.
It may just lead you home.

Originally published at https://pratibhascuriousity.substack.com.