The Garden Lady

I was raised on a small truck farm in Southern New Jersey. My parents raised and sold produce and annual flowers on this farm. We had a small farm stand. When I grew older I became a 4H member, an organization for farm children to learn to do many farm related things, that enabled me to show what I did at the county fair.

After I married, while raising a family, I raised indoor plants until I bought a home and then raised outdoor plants as well. I also tried to have a little vegetable patch. This outdoor gardening is more difficult than it seems, because not only is my property mostly woodland with a stream that periodically floods but the property is overrun with deer, woodchucks, moles, voles, you name it. The only wild animal that I haven’t seen cavorting here is the bear. But I am patient- and they are mostly carnivores, I think. Black walnut trees are also on my property and compete with my gardening. (More on toxicity and black walnut trees later.)

I am extremely active with an organization that offers help and advice to people who have questions and/or problems with horticulture, animals and insects that are both indoors and outdoors. I am a volunteer for this organization but only help noncommercial residents. I have been doing this volunteer work for a number of years and have logged in over 1000 hours of volunteer time so that I am now a Life Member. This organization is in the US, Canada and is starting in England. But I am TheGardenLady on this blog, I am not representing any other organization on this blog so I will not mention the name of the organization that has given me my Life Member badge in this column. Besides answering the public’s questions I have also been involved in creating a compost/show garden for the community.

I received some horticultural training and continue to take educational courses related to horticulture, biology and botany to enable me to best answer questions. This year I am part of a group that is studying insects. I am also part of an herb group. I try to visit as many gardens and arboretums that I can in this country and abroad to learn about trees and plants. I do all this because I love doing it.

I am planning TheGardenLady.org blog to write about horticultural related items that appeal to me and, I hope, they will appeal to you, too. I also hope that the readers of this blog will ask questions that if I cannot answer, I can research or point you in the direction of where to find the information you need. My wish is that those of you who are interested in plants or something related to horticulture or gardening will also contribute to this blog. TheGardenLady.org blog is for you and me. We can explore interesting garden lore as well as facts. Together I hope that this, TheGardenLady.org blog can form one of the most educational, interesting, entertaining even inspirational blogs on plants, shrubs, trees, insects, animals, problems and solutions to gardening, etc.