I was born to be a gardener. One of my earliest pictures has me sitting in a field of daisies, happily munching on a handful! Growing up, my mom had a huge garden with fruit trees and raspberry bushes. It was a July morning tradition to wake up and wander outdoors to pick my breakfast of fresh raspberries. They never made it to a bowl, just directly to my mouth. Pure bliss. Growing up, I would spend my afternoons in that garden, lying under the shade of a large grove of maples reading books. The afternoon sun would stream through the leaves making their canopy resemble a cathedral.
My love of gardens, plants, and the outdoors followed me wherever I went in life. My first apartment after university graduation was on the ground floor and had a patio overlooking a lush ravine. I happily purchased my first pot of spring flowers. How did I not know that this ravine was home to many wild animals? One, a big fat groundhog, loved nothing more than to stop by my planter for lunch followed by a nap on my sunny patio. Try as I might, any planter that I put out inevitably became a meal for that groundhog.
Later, after buying my first home in Ottawa I was lucky enough to fall in with a group of stay-at-home moms who loved their gardens. We would spend days planning, planting, and admiring each other’s garden beds. Outings with the kids were always to the local garden nursery. When I sold that house it came complete with a hand drawn guide to the flower beds. I miss that garden with it’s roses, Campanula and Russian Sage. I remember individual plants as if they were people. I wonder how they've grown and what has become of them.
I have now lived in Southern Ontario for 8 years and planted many new gardens. With each, I have learned and developed as a gardener. Nature is a fantastic teacher and my love for gardening has grown with every new lesson.
My Mother told me early on to find my passion and life and follow it. My passion is gardening and I have been happily living it my entire life.
