Gardening
Insider Info
People have been gardeners for thousands and thousands of years. For most
of history, people grew gardens because they had to. They needed to grow food
to survive! These days, we have jobs to earn money so we can buy food. Yet
there are still people who garden. Instead of doing it because they have to,
they garden because they love it!
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| Some plants grow year after year. This kind of plant is called a
perennial. This yarrow blooms every year! |
| Courtesy of: Debbie Carriere |
Gardeners get great joy from planting a seed and caring for the plant as
it grows. They even get to enjoy the fruit or flower the plant produces.
"There's something essentially honest and basic about getting your fingers
in the dirt," says Harry Boswell of Mississippi. "Gardening helps me keep
order in my world. My best thinking time is when I'm working in my garden."
Some gardeners fill their backyards with roses or other types of flowers.
Other gardeners have a few rows of vegetables that they like to grow for fresh
food. Still others have elaborate yards filled with countless different plants,
vegetables and trees.
Gardens have personality. That is, they reflect the personality of their
gardener.
"My garden is like an extension of the house," says Bob Beer of Washington.
So the night-fragrant plants are especially welcome. I like a garden that
appeals to as many senses as possible, and a beautiful scent on the air makes
it all that more pleasant a place to be."
Every day, the gardener can escape from the pressures of the day, retreat
to the backyard and water the geraniums, prune the clematis or thin the carrots.
It's work in the most basic sense -- making something come out of the ground
where there wasn't anything before you started.
Gardening is a big part of who we are as human beings, so it's not surprising
that millions of people across the continent look forward to their gardening
activities. While some love it so much they work professionally in horticulture
or agriculture, gardeners come from all walks of life.
Some gardeners belong to a club and enjoy the social life this activity
brings them. They get together and share gardening tips. Other gardeners consider
their backyard digs a private matter. It's a time when they can get away from
everyone and hear themselves think.
How many people are into gardening? The number is huge! Everybody with
a few plants in their yard or flowers on their balcony can be considered a
gardener. There are garden clubs in most cities and towns. Then there are
many gardeners who don't belong to a club at all.
Getting Started
If you want to see if you like gardening, just roll up your sleeves and
try it! There might be a garden to hoe or flowers to transplant very near
you.
You can start gardening in the smallest of places. If you've got a little
patch of dirt in your backyard, or even a place where you can put a planter
on your balcony, you can get started as a gardener.
All you really need to get started are some seeds or plants, a little space
and some water. There's plenty more you could get involved with, like fertilizers
and special tools. You might need a trellis -- a fence-like structure that
supports plants like roses and ivy. You might even get a tractor if you've
got the space and the money.
First of all, you'll want to get a beginner's gardening book to help you
with the basics.
Don't let the rules take the fun out of this hobby for you.
"Experiment," advises Debbie Carriere of Manitoba. "Read up on gardening
but don't take the experts' advice too seriously. Do what pleases you, that's
where the fun is."
If you want to get involved with a local gardening club, check out your
phone book or ask at your local recreation center for help.
If you don't have the space or the money or the time to garden for yourself,
there are other options.
Most cities and towns have acres of gardens to take care of. Phone your
city hall -- find out if they have a volunteer gardener program. You may find
yourself working in the most beautiful spaces under the guidance of professional
gardeners.
Associations
California Garden Club
Internet
:
http://www.californiagardenclubs.org/
National Council of State Garden Clubs
Internet
:
http://www.gardenclub.org/
Florida Federation of Garden Clubs
Internet
:
http://www.ffgc.org/
Garden Club of America
Internet
:
http://www.gcamerica.org/
National Gardening Association
Internet
:
http://www.garden.org/
American Horticultural Society
Internet
:
http://www.ahs.org/
Links
California Garden Web
Learn gardening tips from the masters
Gardening Blogs
Enjoy blogs from around the Web
Web Garden
A growing collection of resources for beginning and professional
gardeners, students, teachers, professional agronomists and horticulturists
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