Saturday, December 31, 2011

Adventures In Gardening: Getting To Know You

First off I'd like to thank Brenda, @BG_Garden, for the exciting opportunity to be a part of and a writer for the #gardenchat blog! I'm truly appreciative of her friendship and support.

For those of you who don't know me from Twitter where I tweet as @BloominChick, I thought I would use my first post to introduce myself: I'm an eclectic & creative, happily married (late) 30-something who happens to be disabled with sero-negative arthritis & fibromyalgia, mother of an angel in heaven and a born & raised Jersey girl who joyfully gardens in Zone 7a on the coast and 6 in the mountains. (Yup, we have mountains!) I'm also a constipated writer (when it comes to fiction writing) and an avid reader, photo-taker & blogger. Autumn, Winter and Spring are my favorite seasons and I love, love, love a good snowfall.

I don't come from a long line of gardeners. My uncle always planted tomato's though from what I'm told. (And oddly enough, it seems my cousin and I both became interested in gardening around the same time, unbeknownst to one another). 2012 will usher in my 13th gardening season, which all started one April with two containers of large, cheery yellow pansies from the local supermarket that apparently wanted nothing more than to grow & prosper on my old front stoop. I had no idea tending to those little flowers would bring such joy & comfort and quickly lead to my full immersion into (and often obsession with) the world of gardening! Now I cannot imagine my life without gardening. It's something I can't not do and I won't let my frequently uncooperative body & unpredictable health (or the voles) keep me from it!

Those simple pansies lead me to dip my tow into the pool of container gardening. Later on, I was told I could use the small corner "plot" to the side of my old front stoop because none of the neighbors wanted it, so then I dipped my toe into the pool of in-ground gardening. When we finally moved from there in 2005, my few perennials potted up in the back of my husband's pickup truck, I stood in that tiny, secluded spot and cried. (Leaving my first garden behind broke my heart!) Our move gave me more outdoor space than I've ever had before, being a life-long apartment dweller, and has enabled me to have two gardens, full sun out front and partial shade throughout the back yard and now, 6 years later, I have more things growing than ever! I'm still gardening on a smaller scale than many who aren't apartment dwellers and I'm fairly restricted to container gardening (for reasons I'll share another time), but, to me, it's not the size of your garden, what you grow or where it is that matters! Just growing matters and gardens of all shapes, sizes, budgets, in-ground or in containers, etc. make our world a better place when they're tended to with love.

I learn more with every passing season; it's all about trying and seeing what happens. I love reading & writing about this wonderful journey that is gardening. There's so much we experience from dirt to bloom, in and out of the garden, whether it's our own space or anothers'.

I'm looking forward to sharing my Adventures In Gardening with you in the posts to come. Best Wishes for 2012 & a prosperous gardening season and a safe & Happy New Year to all!

~Jo
Diggin' Around
NewJerseyThroughMyEyes

13 comments:

Unknown said...

Wonderful share I am happy to be growing with you in the #VirtualGarden on Social Media. Tweeting daily shares on #gardenwalk sharing with you the benefits of growing natural to support a healthier Soil environment. I look forward to our shares to come in 2012! Happy New Year to you and yours Annie

jchapstk said...

Happy New Year to you too. Looking forward to enjoying the garden with you again in 2012

Renata said...

You are so right Jo, the size of a garden does not matter it's the spirit, and the joy that growing and nurturing creates that is so magical. Wishing you a wonderful year filled with blooms
Renata.

Jai Roberts said...

Happy New Year from another gardening enthusiast on Kauai. I loved your article and look forward to reading more!

DollarSeed said...

Jo, Sorry to hear how bad of a hand life has dealt you, but your forward outlook is awesome. There are times when I myself have to wonder how to keep going forward, then I meet someone like you, and my life isn't as bad after all. Sure, there are things that happen, I too had to move and leave my beautiful gardens behind. But that just opened my eyes to how and what I can do to make other gardeners enjoy a richer life on a budget. Glad to have you and Bren as friends.
Dave @DollarSeed

Bloomin'Chick Jo said...

Thanks so much everyone for your wonderful, kind & supportive comments! I truly appreciate them and look forward to sharing more with you here on the blog, on Twitter and on my own blogs as well!

Jan @TWOwomenANDaHOE said...

Love your article, Jo! Congrats!

May all your gardens grow,
Jan

Native Gardener said...

Such a wonderful spirit you have. Looking forward to more from you in 2012~

Bloomin'Chick Jo said...

Thank you Jan, your support has always warmed my heart!

Much appreciated NG :o) Thank you!

Drought Smart Plants said...

Your life has closely mirrored mine - so happy to meet you!

GardenGeri said...

Geri Laufer @gardengeri
Http://gardengeri.com
I love the design process and watching my landscape plantings grow to maturity; I love the perennials returning like old friends each spring, I love the fragrant plants and herbs, and I love getting dirty, muddy, wet in pursuit of flowers and veggies.

GardenGeri said...

wonderful to get to know you a little better!

Bloomin'Chick Jo said...

Glad to meet you too Drought Smart Plants!

Thank you Geri and likewise!