Where to start...

I've been interested in gardening/plants/flowers all my life. I got it from my folks in a very legitimate way. Mom and Dad had a greenhouse in the back yard. My Dad told Mom when they were considering building it,,"The flowers will be growing while we're sleeping". I guess that was his way of convincing her, but it must have worked. I don't remember ever NOT having this greenhouse.

We would grow annual plants starting in January. Dad would plant the seeds, then Mom and I would transplant them into pots and packs. Later, when the season started, people would come to our house all day long to buy plants. In the winter, Dad would plant the whole greenhouse in snapdragons that he would sell to a wholesaler. Sometimes around holidays the greenhouse was full of specialized plants...lilies before Easter or poinsettias before Christmas. So, I guess planting things became a way of life for me at a very young age.

Dad did all this while he worked full time at a florist wholesaler...the same one he sold snapdragons to. At some point, he stopped that and bought a flower shop. For twenty years he and Mom ran the shop and I worked there as well. Lots of times my kids were there too while I helped out for a particular order or holiday.

My desire for flowers has always been strong. I'd love to live somewhere where the season doesn't kill off plants. You go through all the work of planting and coddling them only to have Mother Nature freeze them to the ground. But then, I'd miss the seasons. Spring is my favorite. The world seems to burst into color after the cold, almost as if renewed by it.

This new education. It's all about getting the most from Mother Earth. Learning how to achieve the best of each planting. Finding ways to more efficiently utilize water, mulch and fertilizer. Looking at ways to do all this much "greener" than ever before.

So, this is the start of my new education.