By Charlene Thomas

My grandmother was a master gardener. She mastered all areas of her front and backyard to have plants growing all year. My job, when visiting, was to help water these plants. My siblings were not happy with these chores, however, I was happy. I was outside and my hands were in the dirt. My mother was not a gardener. My farther did maintain the pear trees on our property but his main garden job was to master the lawn by cutting it. My mother and father were master parents in raising five children, seeing all finish college and helping all move out of their home.

My first garden was in containers placed on the balcony of an apartment I shared with my sister. After some success with my plant purchases, I realized I needed to do some research on container gardening. My success with the container garden, after purchasing garden books and checking out books from the library, was echoed by compliments I received from many of the tenants in the apartment complex.

I moved from the apartment to a house when I married. The landscape of the property had established flower beds with no flowers in them. I had visions of adding more beds. My mother and sister were available to organize my kitchen while I took photos of the landscape. My husband, who was raised on a farm, said that the beds needed to be amended with more soil and nutrients before I purchased any plants. So I decided to wait until more soil was added, tested and amended. Meanwhile, I joined my mother and sister in organizing my kitchen.

My husband joined me in my research on garden ideas for our home. We had many lively landscaping debates (i.e., annuals vs perennials, garden books vs garden magazines, spring bulbs vs fall bulbs and flowers vs vegetables). Five years later we were happy with our landscape which was echoed by compliments we received from our neighbors.

Although we were happy with our garden beds, we liked visiting other neighborhoods and seeing new ideas. One day we stopped in front of this house that had more garden space than our home. This house also had a “for sale” sign in front of it. One month later, we were moving into the house. My mother and sister were available to organize my kitchen while I took photos of the landscape.

By now, I had joined a local garden group where knowledge and plants were shared. I was journaling my garden experiences and enjoying our new home. Each year, my husband and I would make plans to add another theme garden. As time progressed, we both welcomed work promotions which included travel. Then it happened; some of the beds were neglected.

As of May 2017, my husband and I are retired and the debates have begun. The Alabama Master Gardener Program that I enrolled in is equipping me to win these debates.

Charlene Thomas, a Master Gardener of Class 2018, lives in Montgomery.  For more information on becoming a master gardener, visit www.capcitymga.org or email capcitymga@gmail.com.