Yes, I am that crazy Plant Lady!
When I was a child growing up in Louisiana, I had a neighbor named Mr. Dufresne who had a vegetable garden in his backyard. I would climb over the fence and help him with his garden. He was a very old and kindly gentleman and he loved calling me Jennifer Jones! (I never knew why until I got older and found out this was an actress from the 30’s-60’s or so that he really liked.) Anyway, he introduced me to gardening that I enjoyed. My other foray into gardening was my Dad’s Rose Garden in front of our house which I hated cause he would make us weed it and I ending up getting all scratched up. Ugh!!! I won’t grow a Rose Bush to this day I was so traumatized!
When I was 10, we moved to Wisconsin and started an Apple Orchard. That was not my idea of fun! Again, I hated it! I hated planting the trees, pruning the trees and especially picking the Apples! Then after picking we would have to wash and bag and then sell them. I was frozen all the time! I swore I would never be a farmer or plant another thing for the rest of my life!
I hit my 20’s, have 2 children, go through a divorce and just struggle to make a good life for my children. I really did not have time for gardening. The house I was living at had some garden beds but other than cleaning the leaves out once or twice a year, that was all I had time for.
I meet my husband and he starts taking care of the yard. Him and the kids spent hours cleaning up leaves and doing “Stick Patrol”. Anything bigger than a toothpick had to be picked up. Oh boy, did they hate that! My yard started looking real nice and then I noticed how bad the garden beds looked. So, it was then and there that I decided to garden again. Hence, this is my starting point of becoming that Crazy Plant Lady.
When I decide to do something, I am all in! I spent hours and hours of research into different plants, bought books, attended garden shows. Anything I could do to become a well-versed Gardener. I made a lot of mistakes and planted plants that I did not realize would spread so quickly or did not work in the area that I planted it. But, that is the beauty of gardening, it’s a living canvas that is ever evolving and can be changed at anytime. I was addicted to making my yard look well tended and inviting. It also became my stress release when I was having a bad day and just needed some time to myself.
To the right, is the first bed that I tackled. It had nasty shrubs in it and I decided that it all had to go. We installed a new border and brought some more dirt into it and I was off and running.
Next, I decided I wanted a Vegetable Garden. Again with the research and planning. I decided to go with a Kitchen Garden style. I did not want the expense and hassle of raised garden beds so I just built divider boxes and mulched the paths. We recycled some materials from the old trampoline and the neighbors tent that got destroyed and built trellises for the tomatoes and cucumbers as well as shade cover for cool season plants. Later we added a compost area and large water tower storage container (just gravity fed) as I would need 400′ of hose to get over there from the house…this garden was across the road. I loved this garden and spent many happy hours tending it.
We moved 4 years ago and now I had to start all over at my new house. It is challenging and I am not as spry as I once was but now I am a whole Zone warmer and I can go crazy with new plants.
I loved all my plants that I had at the old house and guess what? I dug them up and brought them to my new house! There are plants in rows yet because of how much landscaping we have to do yet. We have gotten a lot done in the last few years that has involved heavy machinery and a lot of grunt work and I am hoping that this year it will all come together!
Spring has been a little cold so far but that has not deterred me. I have been growing plants in the basement since March 1st. I start a lot of my own flowers and veggie plants BUT, now I live in an area that has a high Amish population and they have awesome greenhouses!
My sister, daughter and niece went on opening day, April 22nd and though I did not plan to buy much on this first trip, I of course did. I walk into a greenhouse and look for the newest plants and varieties and inevitably I say I need this and this and so on. I have a veritable forest of plants growing now in my basement!
While walking through the greenhouses, my 6 year old Niece says she wants to plant her own garden and my 30 year old daughter tells me she wants make her house the envy of the block!
My heart was full that day as my dedication and sometimes craziness about gardening has not only impacted me but my family as well. I am going to be a Grandma for the first time this year and can’t wait to garden with the grandkids!