By Mamie McClure

“If you look the right way, you can see that the whole world is a garden.” – Frances Hodgson Burnett

My mom loved flowers, she would plant them in the ground or in flowerpots, all the flowers would be beautiful year after year. She must have had a green thumb, because I have never seen her use anything, but dirt, soil and water to grow plants. When I asked her how to keep flowers alive, she said “give them a little water, sunlight and talk to them”.

My mom passed away a few years ago. I got a piece of her Canna Lily and an Elephant Ear plant from her yard and planted them the same way she did. The plants grew beautifully. During this time, I was having some health issues, so I decided to buy flowers and vegetable plants to keep me busy. I spent a lot of money on flowerpots, soil, garden tools, and chemicals for weeds. I even bought a portable greenhouse. Got all the flowers and vegetables planted and they began to grow. I got so excited how beautiful they were going to be.

Things began to happen, some plants started to die, others leaves turned brown with holes in them, but some grew beautifully in the same area. I didn’t understand why until I became a Master Gardener Intern, which I really enjoy. Right away I recognized things that went wrong. The plants that died may have been planted in wrong soil or maybe needed some adjustments with the soil. Soil test would have been very beneficial. May have been too much sun or not enough shade. Knowing what you are planting, where you are planting and what it requires will help me to have a much healthier and beautiful garden.

Mamie McClure, an Intern in the Master Gardener 2022 Master Gardener Class. For more information on becoming a master gardener, visit www.capcitymga. org or email capcitymaga@gmail.com.