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For the LOVE of GARDENING...
I love pretty much everything about gardening... even all the hard work, those disappointing blunders and then, the bliss of it all.
Training as a Master Gardener taught me what works, what doesn't and why. And just because the title includes I can use the title "master" it really means I really just know how to find the answers I need because I'm in touch with so many other "masters" of gardening all over the world. I love that and humbled too.
The love of gardening is about sharing that passion. I hope that's why you are here. Together we can have "lush", healthy and productive gardens.
Hopefully you'll find what you need and if there is something missing, let me know. I'll do my best to help...
And, of course I have my own story and if you have time and a cup of tea, it's at the bottom of the page. In the meantime, look at some other pages to get you started.
ROSES ARE EASY
Life is particularly challenging right now: our world is dealing with COVID, politics, wars, threats, anger and angst. But there is goodness and kindness out there, so share your kindness, smile with your eyes and look out for each other.
Remember, no matter what else is cancelled,gardening is not.
Plan your garden, plant some seeds and keep dreaming. The sun always rises - spring always comes and we always feel better in the garden.
Stay strong. We're in this together and we'll come through it .
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"Garden Bliss & Blunder"
Gardening is about our journeys
and in spite of the blunders, there is much bliss in a garden.
Here's my story..
I don't like getting my hands dirty so I never considered myself a gardener. "Garden Design" was pretty much about re-arranging flower pots on the deck.
But life threw me a few life-changing curves and digging in the dirt was therapy for patching up heart and soul but still just moving those pots around.
So I was surprised when the gardening bug bit me hard and the rest is why I am here. I dug a few flower beds and made a lot of mistakes. But the few successes, kept me going.
Why gardening?
Gardening proves that hope and faith are still alive. When you plant a dry little seed in a handful of dirt, you just KNOW it will grow and bloom into something divine. Of course you do because we keep doing it.
Gardening is good for us.
That's not why I started, but once I did, that intoxicating combination of dirt, water and sun is magic for me and I always want more.
As a single working mom with two (fabulous) children, I didn't have much time for digging and planting flowers, so our spring outings consisted of racing off to the greenhouse, piling pretty annuals into my convertible and hauling them home.
All I had to do was plop them into pots, arrange them on the verandah or walkway and
...Voila - instant garden.
I still hate getting dirt under my nails...so every Spring I treat myself to a few pairs of gloves in delicious colours, like lavender, blue or peach. With rubber-like palms and fingers and a nice cool mesh on the upper...they are thin enough to pick up a tiny seedling, or protect me from sharp thorns.
I wash them often.Who wants to put on wet, dirty or gritty gloves? And if an offer of a little help comes along, I can offer a clean pair of gloves...But I digress.
One day, the wind blew a big old tree onto my sad little yard and when it was all cleared away, the cost to remove the stump, was too huge - so I stuck a pot on top; threw some soil around it and planted some flowers.
It was a pretty and healthy way to deal with some life problems and I fell in love with gardening.
Soon I was carving curvy beds along the fence and filling them with daisies and wild phlox from the side of the road, and along the railroad track. I haunted yard and garden-club sales, farmers' markets and started asking questions.
Then - I thought a Rose Garden would be nice.
But that's a whole other story here..ROSES
I bought more plants and made bigger beds: less grass and more garden. I poured heart, soul (and dollars) into my garden and got a bit cocky. My 3rd summer, it didn't take much to persuade me to enter our city's "Communities in Bloom" Garden contest...
I came in third... (goodie for me).
By then, I was addicted to flowers and before the next competition, I hired some muscle and we dug up the patchy grass under the huge Maple tree in front of my house and planted the Hostas my neighbour gave me.
See how that went here: Grass-to Garden
By this time I was gardening like a madwoman and wanted even more plants. Each spring, it was a giddy challenge to choose colours when the greenhouses were full of 50 shades of the same colour.
(Here are some tips that worked for me) colour.
Soon life was healing and the sad little yard was becoming a garden.
The following year I entered the competition again...
and WON FIRST...ooh la la.
And if I can do it, so can you. Keep reading to see what worked or didn't- some shortcuts, successes and oops, failures.
If you want to grow veggies instead of flowers,
look here: (stevenbiggs.ca)
Steve and Emma Biggs have it covered. Young Emma grows BIG tomatoes and they will show you how.
