To plant a garden is to believe in the future
Thanks to Audrey Hepburn for that lovely quote. As we head into year 2 of the pandemic, my obsession with gardening has hit a fever pitch. I’ve been gardening for about 5 years now, but only now will I tell you I am a gardener. It brings me joy, peace and constant learning. Every plant is an experiment that I cannot rush or make thrive under duress. My garden is my happy place.
I used to buy plants because they were pretty and plunk them any old place and expect that they’d thrive. I used to water once a week, and wonder why they gasped in thirst. So through many trials and errors I’ve transformed my skills and my garden. Here’s how:
Learning, so much learning. From books, to blogs, to courses, I’ve been packing my brain full of knowledge of gardening. I am currently taking a Hort certificate at University of Guelph, hoping to become a master gardener.
Irrigation, seriously a game changer. Brian put in a watering system for me (simple drip irrigation) and it changed everything. Plants are happy, very few die.
Right plant right place- all that learning taught me about sun, soil and drainage, and half my plants were in the wrong spot.
Monty Don, I am not even joking. Weekly episodes of Gardeners’ World not only keep me sane they keep me excited. They inspire me to try new things, to take care of those jobs to be done on the weekend.
All that to say that during long toronto lockdowns, and no end in sight, the gardening calendar gives me hope. This month it’s planting seeds, then it’s cleaning up the beds, and then, and then. I don’t know what I would do without it.