I have wanted to start a gardening blog for about a year but have had too much self doubt to pull the trigger. I’m not a master gardener! I’m not even the best gardener of all my friends (or second best, or third best…). And my family certainly could put me to shame too! So, I held off, waiting until I became more expert in gardening. As I started to undertake landscaping my yard, it didn’t seem like that would ever happen. Several plants died in less than a year, some bulbs didn’t flower, some bulbs didn’t even come up again, and I somehow managed to kill mint. That stuff is growing like gangbusters in our creek bed from someone who tossed it over the bridge. Not only has it made it through winter, but did I also mention that it is in a creek bed consisting mostly of cement, rocks, and leaves? But, as I have learned, that is a major theme of the story of gardening. Stuff won’t grow where you want it and grows where you don’t want it.
I visited the Nashville Zoo this past Saturday and went to the Grassmere Historic Home and Farm. I walked to the back of the home where the gardens were and saw someone working in the gardens. The gardens are maintained by the Master Gardeners of Davidson County so I took the opportunity to chat with the Master Gardener about what she was doing and a little about the plants in the gardens. In our conversation, she mentioned that she comes here often to maintain the gardens and that she also maintains the gardens at her house and her mother’s house. She said that her garden is always in progress. She mentioned that she has a bush that was supposed to grow to three feet tall and was currently six feet tall, so it doesn’t fit the space. She regularly moves plants that don’t work where they are currently located due to amount of sunlight, water needs, etc. To hear someone who has master gardener status say that even their own gardens are a work in progress encourages me to step out and write about my experiences gardening even if I am not an “expert”. My garden will always be a work in progress and I am okay with that!
Weeds grow everywhere. That is part of what makes them weeds. Gardening is not for the perfectionist. Even when you do everything “right”, it doesn’t always turn out how you hope. Gardening requires adaptation, patience, and being okay with everything not being exactly how you planned it. I am okay with imperfection. Luckily my neighbors and HOA are too. I always have more to learn, so that is how I will operate this blog – walking you through my learning process and learning from you all in the comments. So, here goes nothing! I hope you enjoy reading self deprecating posts and writing super encouraging comments!
