MY MOTHER IN LAW: JACK OF ALL TRADES
My mother in law is an amazing woman and talented in so many areas. One of those ways is gardening. She says gardening is an adventurous endeavor. Over the years, she has had many gardens of different size and I’ve heard stories of my husband eating berries while picking them or growing up eating asparagus every day because they had so much in the garden. My mother in law however would beg to differ that she is hardly a pro and more of a beginner. It is still up for discussion!
MY MOTHER: THE MASTER GARDENER
My mother also is a gardener and a trained master gardener. My mother did vegetables when I was much younger but primarily she and my father have enjoyed learning about plants and flowers and doing their yard over the years.
FRESH FROM THE GARDEN AND AN INTERVIEW:
While walking around the yard the other day, I thought it would be fun to interview my mother in law about her garden and her thoughts. This summer, while we have been staying with them we have not only been able to enjoy their flower and plants but eat herbs, veggies, and fruits from it. In fact, tonight we had a multitude of things from the garden. We had beets, gluten-free fried okra, tomato salad with fresh basil, and also roasted butternut squash. And if you are wondering why the heck my husband, at 32, and his 33 years old wife are back living with their parents, that is a whole other crazy story – and yes it’s temporary!
Although It might be a little late for you to start a summer garden, it made sense to write this blog now so I could take pictures of all the blooms. So just make sure you pin a picture to your Pinterest board so you can look this over again next spring.
MORE GREEN?
Over the last three years, I have taken an interest in being more green, more self-sustaining, being aware of harmful ingredients, and recycling and up-cycling as much as possible. I have learned a lot from my mother in law the past several years and hopefully one day, I can get up the guts (and the help) to start my own.
THE GARDENER AND HER DAUGHTER IN LAW:
(I interviewed my mother-in-law while she was swinging in the hammock in the back yard on July 3oth at 3:46 pm.)
Me: Who taught you how to garden?
Terry: I don’t think anyone taught me but my grandmother had a garden and I loved her garden a lot.
Me: I know you have mentioned having many gardens over the years and have done lots of planting in the many houses you have lived in…where was your biggest garden and what types of things did you plant?
Terry: Ohio. We always had standard things like beans and potatoes. Also blueberries and raspberries and asparagus. Then I always liked to plant other things for fun like gourds, peanuts, giant purple beans. Those were built off of a teepee that we made with bamboo sticks. We also had squash summer, tomatoes, and herbs. I Also had flowers too. My favorite flowers were the kind from my grandmother’s house. I would dig up a piece of her flower plant and replant it in mine. My favorite was called Zinnias.
Me: Over the years, what has been the easiest thing to grow?
Terry: Probably the thing that I have been most successful with has been potatoes.
Me: What kind of potatoes?
Terry: White potatoes, yukon, and gold.
Me: What has been the hardest to grow for you?
Terry: Tomatoes! I can not grow tomatoes and I love tomatoes. I am so bummed that I can never grow them.
Me: What eatable items are in your garden now?
Terry: What I have is cucumber, squash, beet, onion, garlic, swiss chard, okra, and green beans. I planted Brussel spouts but that hasn’t shown. Also, the spaghetti squash might not happen and tomatoes. Both my cucumber and squash have tons of flowers but hardly any veggies. Some say that it is the fertilizer that produces flowers from veggies. I’m not sure.
Me: What is one advice you could give beginners or those wanting to try growing fruits and veggies but scared to get started or waste money?
Terry: So for me, gardening and the produce that I get (grows) is serendipity and not necessarily a goal. I would say, don’t be afraid of failure and just try it. Just do it for fun and not to try to feed your family with your garden. It’s an adventurous endeavor!
Me: What’s one thing you know now, that you wish you knew when you started?
Terry: I honestly consider myself someone still just starting off.
(….she thinks for a while….)
If you are going to grow blueberries you need to plant enough with the birds in mind. Or anything you plant, have extra for any critter.
Me: What is the best way to prepare the soil for either plants or flowers or edible plants?
Terry: Make sure there is plenty of organic material- that’s the scientific answer. Simply, figure out what will grow well in the soil you have and do that.
Me: If you could only pick one, would you choose edible plants or non-edible for your garden?
Terry: That’s hard, I like them both. I would just choose what would grow well.
Me: If you had to name a couple of go-to tools you use for gardening, what would those be?
(I will link them down below for my readers.)
Terry: I don’t use gloves because I like to get my hands dirty- that is the therapeutic part. Watering can is good. A good pair of scissors, hand hoe or shovel but a big garden a hoe. Also a good hat.
Me: What season is the best to start for new gardeners?
Terry: Late winter or early spring and put in things like onions, garlic, and potatoes because they are really easy to grow. In the Fall put in some of the green veggies like Swiss chard or kale.
Me: Any final words or thoughts?
Terry: One of the things I really loved about my garden in Ohio was it was different every year. Some people have permeant structures like a raised garden but I didn’t so I could change it every year. I had a new creation every year. Some people like regularity.
The path you walked in was always the middle. Raspberries would be to your left, asparagus and blueberries were right but everything else was always different and that made it a fun creation each season.
OUR FAVORITE ITEMS YOU NEED TO START YOUR OWN ADVENTUROUS ENDEAVOR:
To see the whole list or to save for a look later check out my storefront.
Final Thoughts:
I hope you enjoyed this blog and interview with my MIL! Let me know what you thought below in the comments. If you have a garden growing, make sure to tag me @linjoylife so I can repost you!
If you loved this blog, you might love this one too! I’m such a sucker for plants, candles, and cute cups.
Also if you want to refer back to this blog at any time, click on a pic to save it to your Pinterest board.
Enjoyed the interview! Terry got me interested in growing herbs, and I had a beautiful herb garden for several years.
My favorite pic has to be the lighthouse birdhouse. 😁