The birth of a Gardener

It’s been an absolute joy watching a homeowner become a gardener.  Tasmin appealed for help in a public online group after feeling frustrated with her garden.  From there I offered to design her flower beds for her.  She knew what she wanted, but not how to get there.  Sound familiar?  There are a lot of homeowners who would love to have a beautiful garden but their inexperience and lack of knowledge holds them back.

So where to begin?

I asked Tasmin to send me photographs of the first area she was tackling, as well as any information on where the sun rises and falls.  She sent me photographs of the views from her windows and also the measurements of the house and practical information.  For example, does anyone use the front door?  After much to and fro over WhatsApp, I drew up a detailed planting plan for her to follow.

Tasmin wanted to encourage the birdlife and have more flowers so we increased the depths of her beds and gave her a more appealing curved structure.  I used a variety of plants with consideration of height, colour, flower structure and which birds they would attract along with other pollinators.  Since she lives out of town it made sense for me to source all the plants and have them in one place for her to collect. I numbered and labelled each plant to tie in with the plan and it wasn’t long before she had planted the first bed.

After several months the bed has filled out and has a lot of sunbird activity right outside their window and she is able to split and take cuttings from all the plants to be able to spread to other areas of her garden.

A few more beds have followed since then with Tasmin asking questions every step of the way.  We’ve tackled problems like hiding the washing line and creating a living vegetable fence.  She’s learnt how to trim, prune and propagate, all the while gaining confidence and knowledge until she felt ready to tackle a new bed all on her own. I’m delighted to see how she’s become a passionate plant collector and an active member of various gardening groups where she often offers advice from her own experiences.

Sometimes all you need is a nudge in the right direction.