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Gardencomm…Why Join??

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If you are a gardener, scouting for that near perfect spot to thrive  can be difficult. Having a passion for beautiful gardens, plants, garden books, and…well, all things garden or garden related can make finding your place in a community difficult. When you want to write, teach, or share your vision of gardening so it reaches the masses, finding a practical place is key. As I asked around, it was recommended that I join The Association of Garden Writers, currently known as GardenComm.

As my daughters attended elementary and middle school, I researched Virginia Master Gardener courses. A stay at home Mom, I made time to take the Master Gardener classes to learn all I could about gardening. When I became a parent liaison for the science club, we installed a butterfly garden at Grafton Village Elementary school. I was known as the worm lady of Fredericksburg, Virginia, according to the Freelance Star.  Proudly, as one of the founding farmers at the Eitt – CSA in Stafford County, I enjoyed gardening organically. From picking bugs off of the crops to laying news print from the Freelance Star between the rows as weed block, I devoured the knowledge of growing organically.

As a Master Gardner in training, I remember saving my money to buy Dr. Dirr’s Manual of Woody Ornamentals. At the time, as a part-time stay at home mom who just happened to also garden part-time, this book was a huge expense. The excitement of reading the words and identifying ornamental plant material was epic. I was so thrilled to acquire this book for my growing library. To this day, I am a true horticultural bookworm.

I am no longer the little girl whose dad did not allow her to play in the dirt. Learning Latin words was fun and I enjoyed it. Giving back to my community by volunteering as a Central Rappahannock Master Gardener was quite important.

Fast forward to a different life outside of Fredericksburg, Va.  I wanted to reach out to people who could only imagine gardening. It was a defining moment. I decided to blog. Writing/blogging is a way to share gardening, garden travels, and finding the beauty that surrounds us naturally. I reflect on how much I have practiced gardening, read about gardening, visited garden centers, attended talks, and given talks. The conclusion – I have realized my passion. My experiences, in my voice, just might be unique.

As I write, travel, speak and share in my own voice and it continues to be quite freeing. The opportunity to network with like-minded passionate plants people has opened up a whole new world for me. I look at the authors on my bookshelf and I realize that I am in GREAT company (including Dr.Dirr) as a garden communicator. I am even considering writing a book. Why? This community inspires me. Sharing my thoughts on all things beautiful is a wonderful way of having my say.

If you want to be YOU-nique in this wonderful word of horticulture, networking, and experience opportunities otherwise unheard of, GardenComm just might be what you are looking for. The sense of belonging, the camaraderie, the genuine support I find in this garden of communicators is amazing. As with any organization, what you put into it can make the organization what you want it to be. I can proudly say…I am GARDENCOMM!

Meet the Author

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A Native Washingtonian, garden communicator Teresa Speight has found a niche sharing the beauty of this earth via her blog https://www.cottageinthecourt.com, speaking engagements, Garden Experiences, and civic involvement. Former Sr. Gardener for the City of Fredericksburg, Virginia, Owner – Cottage In The Court Landscape Maintenance -specializing in Estate Gardens, Vice President/Communications Director of the Capitol Hill Garden Club as well as Region II Director for Gardencomm, finding and creating unique interpretations of all things beautiful is her passion.

Click to find out more about gardencomm

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Tree Peonies – Hope of My Garden

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Tree peonies buds are great examples of survival in the garden.

Tree peonies are the blessing of my garden and perhaps yours as well. When the weather is finicky, I spend the winter checking to see if they do not bud out too early. While other gardening friends worried about too much rain, I thought, it’s ok my tree peonies need a drink to get through the winter. Winds, a little snow, and a ring of mulch to protect anything that might unfurl before it’s time.

Surviving in less than perfect regions of China, Paeonia suffruticosa is the botanical name for the tree peony. The difference in tree peonies and herbaceous peonies are significant. The herbaceous peony will die back to the ground. Paeonia suffruticosa does not have this trait. In fact, the winter appearance looks like sticks standing 3 – 5 feet in the garden. The longevity of the tree peony is simply amazing. I remember visiting the boyhood home of Woodrow Wilson in Staunton, Virginia. There I found a beautiful stand of tree peonies on the property that are over 100 years old. This truly speaks to their strength. The woody stems help the tree peony survive through the winter madness to show off her frilly blooms in early spring.

Waiting for the unfurling of the buds is a favorite activity in early Spring.

Last fall, I had contractors doing work on the exterior of my house. The tree peonies were in their natural autumnal state of sticks in the garden. If you do not know what they are, one might not know how cherished the blooms are in the Spring landscape. My tree peonies came from my Fredericksburg garden 15 years ago. Every Spring they dance in the border like no one is watching. As the buds swell, I patiently await their unfurling. Little by little, it is like a daily striptease in my front border. Every year the bloom count increases.

SURVIVAL OR DEATH BY CONTRACTOR?

I was worried that my tree peonies were doomed when I noticed that the contractors were not aware that they are my joy in the Spring border. My contractor did not know plants and was not aware of my passion for my garden. Today, the first day of daylight savings time, I could see that my tree peonies are just like me – stronger than I ever imagined. After being trampled on, laid on with a ladder, and who knows what else, I came home to see my prayers answered.

Tree peonies survive abuse in my Spring border.

As I looked closely at each of them, I mentally reflected on their journey from the loving border in my Virginia garden.

Even after being broken from above, the tree peonies basal growth shows signs of hope and life.

In my Maryland cottage garden, the tree peonies are holding on to help usher in a new year in the next garden season.

After quite the irregular winter, my tree peonies gave me quite the Monday surprise!

As we celebrate Women’s History Month, I celebrate my tree peonies because they are like strong women who have endured much and still survived. Here’s to Harriett Tubman, Sojourner Truth, and Fannie Lou Hamer. Each of these women prevailed, survived and left an example that no matter how beaten down you are, no matter how dim hope might appear to be…only the strong get up, bounce back, and continue to survive.

Tree peonies in bloom are terrific examples of hope in spite of the struggles we go through in life.

I am a tree peony. Are you one as well?

Planting seeds of hope,

Teri, From the Cottage in the Court

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Mindful Gardening…

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Mindful gardening requires one to consider not just a physical act, but a mental exercise. To approach mindfulness in any situation, one must consider the intention or purpose of why. The intention of disturbing soil to create an area with what we might consider beautiful is usually done with a specific purpose in mind. This mindful intention can help us create the garden of our dreams.

Present Over Perfect by Shauna Niequist was just the book I needed to read while in the midst of home improvement and not being able to tend to my garden due to the ‘busyness’ of the year.

Recently I read a book by Shauna Niequist Present Over Perfect – Leaving Behind Frantic For A Simpler, More Soulful Way of Living. Let’s face it, in today’s world mindfulness is not how most people think. Whether it is gardening or simple garden clean up, most consider this a task that just needs to be taken care of. From the leaf blower to the lawn mower most people simply take care of the task at hand. We just want to change the appearance, make it neat and find something fun to do. I found this book a great tool to step beyond this mindset and become an agent of change.

As a garden enthusiast, change is anticipated annually. The fresh green leaves evolve in Spring as nature readies us for the next season. An abundance of diverse beauty evolves in the harmony of each season.  As blooms exert their last gasp of energy at the end of a colorful cycle of bloom, we should not be saddened by this. A friend who has a “perfect ” yard stopped by as the season was changing. There was a casual mention that almost pierced my inner peace, the joy of my natural garden. “I guess when it was summer your garden was beautiful”, she said. At this point, I realized she was not embracing the moment in my garden. The garden was giving it’s best at this imperfectly beautiful time of the year.

I see the garden daily as it evolves from a simple mulch bed with bulbs rearing their heads to the heavens in the Spring. When summer comes, the garden is in full bloom.  I pause to notice spent blooms and seed heads forming. When autumn arrives with finches and colorfully evolving foliage, I still find my garden beautiful. With the gray winter days, the structure of the shrubs, trees and garden art, we should positively embrace our landscape evolving. In my mind, the garden is always beautiful.

Referencing Shauna Niequist’ book, we tend to move through life too quickly. Consider what we are enjoying and what we allow ourselves to enjoy. Do we garden to beautify our surroundings? Are we gardening to feed our souls or to keep up with our neighbors? This book provides tools that encourage us to slow down and appreciate the beauty that surrounds us.

Part 1 of this book references a powerful quote -“Busyness is an illness of Spirit” Eugene Peterson. Shauna shares an experience that many of us are sure to identify with. No matter how accomplished she became, the more frantic she became. Her inner spirit and her body reacted negatively on many levels. Always having something to do or somewhere to be. In our minds, we feel as though we must check things off the list.

How can we change this to enjoy life or even our gardens more? We must learn the life-changing word -“NO”.Not always having something to do in the garden is a freeing experience. There are times the garden begs us to just sit and enjoy. To simply appreciate the present moment and not require perfection. A mindset that can be liberating for many. Realizing this before you begin to look at the garden as a chore is a beautifully empowering feeling.

At one point the author shares her experience of being a Candy Thrower. Quite honestly I can identify with this mindset. No matter how panicky those around me are, I will find something to break the tenseness of the moment. Allowing herself to become jaded decreased her ability to be a Candy Thrower. When best-laid plans dissipate in the garden, instead of whining about what I did wrong, I instead choose to throw a bit of Candy on the situation. There will be another growing season (prayerfully), another place to move that misplaced plant or give it away. It is not the end of the world.

While not a book specific to gardeners, this is a book that touched my creative inner spirit.  As we approach the holidays, perhaps this should be on the list for sharing.

Gardening Mindfully,

Teri

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Snow Signaling Winter’s Arrival

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The first snow of 2018 in the DMV…

Snow…in early November has signaled seasonal changes all around me. As I drove into work and crossed the DC line the flurries thickened. The snowflakes became swollen with moisture and gently slid down the glass of Ms. Red. I could hear the pellets of sleet tap dancing in the silence of the morning. Traffic was light and I seized the opportunity to roll down the windows and listen…focusing on listening to the sound of the season rolling in. Seasonal weather silently arrived in the Nation’s Capitol and it was quite a surprise.

Snow has a calming affect on the first day. Adorning evergreen branches with a dusting like confectioners sugar. This was a vision that would most likely be seen in January. Predictions call for an early winter this year. Measurable precipitation is also in the forecast, if we believe the meteorologists..

Snow gracing the branches of the Gingko tree outside my office window…

As a child, my wish for my birthday was always the same – snow…and a lot of it. Mom would have been delighted today with the sight of this morning’s weather. I imagined hearing her say, “Teri…your birthday must be near because it is snowing outside.” My Mom’s voice is like music to my ears. I would quickly don my outside winter attire and bolt out the door to walk to school. Oh how I miss those days.

Mom would make grilled cheese sandwiches and double wrap them in aluminum foil with a baggie of molasses. Cooking hot dogs in the Hot Dog Hut, adding a touch of mustard on the roll with a sprinkle of onions , made me the hit of the cafeteria. The foil, always double wrapped kept these special lunches warm. Mom was a woman ahead of her time. Oh how I loved my mom’s lunches, even on a day without snow.

Snow has arrived for the season. How much or how little, we really do not know. What I do know is when the next weather event arrives, I hope it is a weekend. I will take Precious to the park and allow her to immerse herself in this seasonal gift called snow. I will wander in the woods at the break of dawn to capture the scene of a world at peace. Forest bathing in the bliss of the season and watching as Precious discovers something new will be just what the Doctor ordered.

Do you remember childhood memories of snow? Has this wintry mix caught you prepared or just embracing seasonal bliss? I am patiently crossing my fingers for a weather event on the last day of this month.

Happy First Day of Snow…

Teri

 

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