When it comes to gardening I sometimes I feel like a bumbling Inspector Clouseau.
I started gardening late in life. We moved up to Queensland from Victoria 10 years ago and my partner (who was a gardener and loved it) said let’s start a business selling garden products.
My response: “Ummm, ok.”
We had a veggie garden down South and I always loved harvesting produce fresh from the garden. I also believed that it was an awesome thing for our little one to watch a garden grow and be able to pick what she wanted to eat out of the garden.
In the front garden, there was a flower bed where we would plant snapdragons, sweet peas, impatiens, petunias. Established rose bushes lined the border of the garden. We also had daffodil and freesia bulbs and when the time was right, they would pop up – it was delightful!
But in terms of doing the work in the garden, my partner did that. I might have done bits and pieces here and there but I left the gardening up to him.
Fast forward to 2014 and we still have a business selling garden products. However in the last year I have discovered that I really enjoy gardening. But like anything that is new, gardening takes time to learn skills and to practice new found knowledge.
So this is what I have been doing. I may not have years of garden know-how behind me but I have a willingness to learn. A friend once told me ‘What I know would fill a book, what I don’t know would fill a library.’ I have tried to apply this saying not only to my gardening but my life in general…So far the garden is a great teacher.
PS I’m also excited that this year I have started studying horticulture at TAFE! Looking forward to it – although learning botanical names will be a challenge.
Are you also an amateur gardener? What have your experiences been? Please share your story in the comments section below.
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I have always enjoyed having a flower garden and during my working years it was difficult to keep it looking good. Our backyard was almost entirely filled by a large Iinground pool. The children eventually lost interest in swimming at home and the upkeep was expensive. Now our grandchildren have lost interest and would rather meet their friends at the YMCA and swim there. So last year we took the decision to demolish the pool and make our backyard over to vegetable beds and fruit trees. We have had a bumper crop of tomatoes, beans, carrots, eggplant, potato, capsicum, zucchini,onions,corn, silver beet, cucumber, and pumpkins. Now we have broccoli and cauliflower newly planted. Our family, friends and neighbours have all shared in our bounty and we have learned to bottle and preserve all oversupply ready for winter. The grandchildren love to come and pick something to cook for dinner. We have apple, pear, plum, lemon.orange , nectarines and plectarines so dessert is also there for the picking. We love taking our cuppa out back and looking over the garden and deciding what to do next. Being retired is now a lot more fulfilling and rewarding.
Hi Pat
Awesome story…I have always loved gifts of fresh produce when it is from someones garden…it’s like the love and care taken to tend to veggie patch flows on!