How Does Your Garden Grow

My thumbs have never been green. If anything, my hands distinctly hold the shade of botanical death. I have been known to actually kill cacti - and they can live in some darn inhospitable regions. I accidentally froze a jade plant to death just by putting it on a windowsill. To date, every houseplant I have transplanted has whithered away. In order to save more green lives from an undeserving demise I have held off on living plants in my home and focused my attention on already-doomed cut flowers and cheap-and-forever fake blooms.

But then I moved into my new place in Toronto and it came with both a front flower bed and an ample garden space in the backyard. I decided to give these areas some attention and have since become captivated with trying to populate these soily spaces and keep my newly acquired plants alive and thriving.


The first step was getting some help. And who better to help than my mom, who has, throughout my life always managed to grow something. I also thought it would be a nice way for us to bond since we have not shared any garden adventures since I was about 5 years old and shucking peas was my responsibility.

At the end of April my mom came down to Toronto to spend the weekend with me. Of course I know nothing about plants so when my mom asked what I would like to have in the garden my only response was: "Something blue?" We toured the Canadian Tire for supplies - my first trowel! - and dirt. We got a few small pansies and some snapdragons but the selection was not great. Our next stop at the Loblaws garden centre was more rewarding. We got some bigger pansies - Giganticos! - some daisy-looking bunches and some herbs. We also got two tomato plants to get them started. The convenience stores at the top of my street (they ALL sell flowers!) provided us with ivy and some marigolds.


We devoted the Saturday to picking, plucking and planting. In truth, my mom did alot of the transplanting and I did most of the weeding. She showed me how to dig the deep edge along the beds to keep the grass from infiltrating and I turned over the soil in the bed to mizx it with a growing mix and hummus mixture. Thankfully the sun was out all day but my back began to ache and my feet and hands were filthy. We tried to use gloves but in the end it was easier to alot of things with my bar hands.


Finally we got all the plants into their places. I got a flower box for the railing of the front porch and filled it with periwinkly, ivy and purple pansies. Then I had to water everything. I didn't have a garden hose so the old-fashioned method was employed. Trying to saturate a flower bed with a watering can takes quite a few trips. But it was worth it! The flowers really helped the yard to look lively and bring a touch of spring to the house.


A month later and things are going well. The trees are finally getting buds and I have discovered that annuals from years past are sprouting in the gardens. I am very grateful to the past tenants who planted before me because it isn't cheap to fill a garden and it is great that I didn't have to buy all the filler! I also took a number of trips down to the beach and collected rocks to line the beds. The front was done all in shades of grey and the back in mixed stones. I contructed the inukshuk from spare brick I found on the property. It was done for my boyfriend who really likes the emblem. It firmly stays that "we are here".


I look at the gardens and I have to smile. My mom was so helpful, the weather has been sunny and the flowers are blooming well. I have plans to make a herb garden and a section has been setup for vegetables which I will do later this month. It still looks sort of sparse to me but I have to remember that he earth is full of magic just waiting to grow. If the day lillies are any indication then more treasures will soon be pushing up into the air and filling up the spaces. Time to go water everything. Admittedly, the whole "gardening" thing is a bit addictive and I have to keep my thumb green while it lasts.