After taking Chan’s Taste Test and reading Kathy’s comments, I started thinking about my gardening experience and decided I need to explain a little.
I grew up in Texas and have mostly lived here. I have memories of the gardens of my parents and grandparents and others but I did not have a garden of my own until I moved to where I am now about eleven years ago. I learned about plants from Sierra Club hikes and wildflower field guides.
When I finally had enough space for a garden my first thoughts were about plants that were familiar, namely wildflowers. I took a landscaping class taught by Sally Wasowski and joined a garden club specializing in native plants, both of which reinforced that point of view. I am not a purist though. I left anything that was still surviving in the old garden beds and have planted lots of roses and irises.
So not only has my gardening experience been confined to one region, I have even deliberately limited my plant selections (with a lot of exceptions, as I have to point out).
Comments (3)
Bill: I find that it doesn’t matter how much knowledge you have as long as you’re gardening and enjoying it. Kathy Purdy sent me an email about Chan’s test and I stumbled over a few of the questions even after growing up in the northern climes. I’ve sinced moved to Florida and have read everything I can get my hands on to become more adapted to the southern garden. After almost 9 years, I have made great strides but still fall flat on my face many many times. Anyway, the good news is that I still enjoy gardening every chance I get and if I can’t answer all the questions it really doesn’t matter, does it? Anyway, I want to compliment you on the photos you share. They are absolute gorgeous - you do a phenomenal job of bringing nature to one’s eye. Thank you- it’s a great gift.
I love how gardening is such a great way to express one’s self. I think you can tell a lot about a person by what they choose to grow.
I’m with you. Personally, I like the many different wildflowers better than most cultivated ones anyways. And native ones give me a bonus because they support local wildlife which I also love. But exceptions always exist, like my love of columbines. We have a native red and yellow columbine, but I like different ones, and planted an ‘Irish Elegance’ white columbine in my garden. Cultivated, but oh well. I also have a more mild mannered, compact, and lusher miniature cultivated bee balm that I just planted. Familiarity isn’t why I do it, but because I think they’re more interesting, but I agree anyways! Actually, a lot of them I am discovering for the first time.
Oh, and then of course there are the herbs, which aren’t native, and not all entirely wild, but they are another favorite of mine, and are useful too.