I’d love to connect with you! Sign up for my monthly newsletter, "Garden Bliss & Blunder”
For the Love of Gardening
I love gardening... it fills me with joy and I hope it does for you. It feels good to get your hands in the soil and grow something to eat or just enjoy its colour.
Studying to be a Master Gardener taught me the basics about what works, what doesn't and why. I doubt the "title" makes me a better gardener, because there is always so much more to learn. It actually means I am connected to a vast network of passionate, knowledgeable gardeners all over the world who have answers to my questions which I want to share with you.
I love that.
A garden lets us share our passion with and learn from other gardeners: what we love to grow, our hopes, experiments, our successes and even failures.
...I hope this is why you're here.
Perhaps you'll find some answers or new ideas, however if you have a question you don't find an answer for, let me know.
I have a story of my own and when you have time, pour a lovely drink; it's at the bottom of the page.
Otherwise, head to the links that interest you and go from there.
Life is full of challenges; our world is dealing with illnesses, politics, wars, threats, anger and angst. But there is goodness and kindness out there, so share what you can - your kindness, a smile and look out for each other.
If you love gardening, share what you can: help if you can and get out there because...
No matter what else is cancelled,
gardening is not.
Play in your garden; plant some seeds and keep dreaming. The sun always rises - spring always comes and we always feel better in the garden.
Whatever is wrong in the world, the love of gardening will always make things better.
I have a free monthly NEWSLETTER
I'd love you to sign up...
- no pressure, no obligation.. just neat stuff
about the love of gardening.
"Garden Bliss & Blunder"
Please sign up below:
I will never share your information..
I promise.
If you have a moment,
this is why I love gardening..
I still don't like getting my hands dirty so I hesitated to call myself a gardener. "Garden Design" to me was re-arranging flower pots on the deck.
When life threw me a few curves, I discovered digging in the dirt was great therapy for patching up a broken heart and a tattered soul - even though I was still just moving flower pots around the deck.
The 'gardening bug' has a way of hitting some of us rather hard and now, here I am. I dug a few ditsy little flower beds and made more than a few blunders.
But there were also a few successes and I fell head over heels in love with gardening even though I still make mistakes.
Gardening proves hope and faith are still alive. When we plant a dry little seed in a handful of dirt, we just KNOW it'll grow and bloom into something divine.
"They" say gardening is good for us.
That's not why I started, but once I did, that intoxicating elixir of dirt, water and sun is magic for me and I always want more.
As a single working mom with two (fabulous) children, there was never enough 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 deck or walkway and
...Voila - an instant garden.
I still hate getting dirt under my nails...So 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.
Then, one crazy day, the wind blew a big old tree onto my sad little yard and when it was all cleared away, there was a huge stump. The cost to remove it would buy a lot of plants so I stuck a pot on top; threw some soil around it and planted some flowers. Behold a "garden".
Gardening is a pretty, and healthy way to deal with life's problems and so easy to fall in love with gardening.
I dug some curvy beds along the fence and filled them with wild daisies and phlox I dug from the side of the road or along the railroad track behind the house. I haunted yard and plant sales, farmers' markets and started asking a lot of questions.
I thought... a Rose Garden would be nice.
But that's a whole other story here..ROSES
I bought more plants and had to make bigger beds: less grass and more garden. I poured heart, soul, muscle and many dollars into that space. I even called it my "garden".
Then, I got a bit cocky.
My 3rd summer, my garden friend Mary twisted my arm to enter our city's "Communities in Bloom" Garden contest...
I came in third... goodie for me.
By then, I was totally addicted and before the next competition, I hired some muscle and we dug up the patchy grass under the Maple tree in the front yard and planted whatever I could find.
Look here to see how that went: Grass-to Garden
Soon I was gardening like a madwoman, needing even more plants. Each spring, it was a giddy challenge to choose colours when the greenhouses had 50 different shades of the same colour.
See here how colour can be fun: colour.
Life was settling down and my sad little yard was a garden.
The following year I entered the competition again...
and WON FIRST...ooh la la.
Keep reading and I'll share what worked or didn't; some shortcuts or successes, and of course, some dismal 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.
