My story is different from the rest of yours. I'm 56 and only started seriously gardening in 2008 when we moved into our current house. Previous to that, I had a mild interest in plants in general, but definitely didn't see myself as a gardener.
What changed? Well, we spent most of our adult life on Vancouver Island where it is lush, green, beautiful all four seasons, and people generally have beautiful landscaped yards. We moved too much, on average once a year, and I knew nothing of plants and yard work, so generally we just mowed the lawns. Very little else.
Then we moved to Alberta as my Mom had moved here and she became sick and needed help. Alberta is flat, the winters are LONG!! and the spring is all brown, everything is dead, and flat! (did I mention flat? No rounded, mounded landscaping). Uhggg. I suddenly realised I missed the beauty and lushness and the tailored gardens of Vancouver Island!
So, new home, previous owners were elderly and had neglected the gardens for many years, but they originally had quite a bit of perennials in numerous areas in the yard. I started by watching what came up in the spring and researching online to see what they were and what they needed. First 2-3 years, I just maintained. Then, I saw someone's yard that was beautifully done and said to myself, "I want that!". More research looking for perennials that would survive the cold winters here (sometimes touching as cold as -40C). My budget for the yards was $500 a year, including for about 10 flower pots for the decks. I learned how to improve the soil, how to plant for longer season interest, using texture and different heights, as well as color. I added plants, reconfigured, expanded flowerbeds, completely revamped some, learning as I go.
This summer was the first time I felt I had achieved something really special. I am more than pleased with the results and my husband has been very encouraging and shows a lot of appreciation! It's been fun learning and doing, and it gets me out of the house away from my books and TV, so it's a healthy change too.
This summer, Fine Gardening chose my latest garden project to show on their Garden of the Day blogs! That was the highlight of my year! I hope this link works:
http://www.finegardening.com/p...
