The Fairly Quiet Gardener

Early Gardening Influences

I'm a gardening and landscaping enthusiast and probably should have pursued a career in landscape design (shoulda, woulda, coulda...right?!).  Growing up, I was always drawn to art/design, music, gardens, history, languages, architecture, the great outdoors, the list goes on.  

My early gardening influences were my parents and my grandma.  Probably the two most important influences for most of us in many things.  I can't say that I started gardening at the age of seven, found a deep and abiding passion, could be found out in the garden weeding and taking cuttings at age eight, and the rest is history.  Gardening was something I observed others doing, was sometimes asked to participate in, and enjoyed as a passerby.  But there are many treasured experiences that helped to leave a lasting impression on me and laid the foundation for a love of gardening that would build and build, finally kicking into high gear about fifteen years ago.

My parents have always had a garden.  Their parents had gardens, and on it goes back through the family tree.  Growing up, I remember my dad diligently digging over the vegetable garden and preparing the soil for planting.  I remember the trees they planted and the bed of roses they tended.  To this day, my parents are still hard at it - digging, planting, watering, weeding, harvesting, and canning.

My grandma's garden was a magical place for me as a kid.  It was in beautiful British Columbia and the coastal rains made it lush and green.  I remember her foxgloves that towered over me, her flowers and vegetable garden, the raised chicken coop draped in cobwebs and covered in moss, a massive cherry tree, the hazelnut grove.  What a place to explore and play growing up!

Major Gardening Influence Today

My single biggest gardening influence today is Monty Don.  I cannot say enough about his influence on me as a gardener.  He inspires, he teaches, he entertains.  I love his books.  I'm inspired by the garden, Longmeadow, he has created with his wife Sarah.  I feel a deep connection to him (is that silly, having never met him?) after years of watching him as lead presenter on BBC's Gardeners' World and immersing in all of his written works.

Why I Garden

Joy - Many (all?) of us garden for the sheer joy of it, I certainly do.  It can be hot, tiring, cold, sweaty, wet, dirty, mystifying, even disappointing.  However, it has been my experience that there are so many moments of joy and so much enjoyment that you derive from gardening.

Creating - I love the intersection of design, landscaping, and gardening.  You dream, you come up with a vision.  You gather your drawing supplies and draft and re-draft your grand design.  You mentally walk through every path and envision every bed.  And then you grab your marking paint, stakes, and string, heading for your blank canvas.  As you translate your drawn plan to the physical site, you adjust and modify.  Paths shift, trees move, you see new opportunities and realize what won't work.  Eventually, shovel meets soil and the landscape begins to change, the garden begins to take shape.

Learning through trial-and-error - This is all about hands-on learning and experimentation.  You try something and it doesn't work.  You plant something and it doesn't thrive.  You make an adjustment and try something else or move a plant to another location...and voila!  Improvement, lesson learned, experience gained.  

Hard, sweaty manual work - I'm an office dweller by profession, so I jump at any opportunity to be outside and active.  Gardening has become the ultimate release and activity for me.  My wife, bless her, is very understanding of the time I spend wrapped up in it.

The harvest - This is an obvious one but it should be listed all the same.  Getting to see and taste the fruits of your labors never gets old.  

Beauty - A garden is beauty.  The potential, the process, the results.  Yes, the beauty is seen in the plants and the overall visual effect, but it is also felt and experienced as you lose yourself in it.

Family - A garden can bring together family, friends, and fellow enthusiasts.  Memories are made, teaching and learning happens, service is given, bounty is shared.

“Weedy Pete”