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By Melanie Brewer
Becoming an empty nester necessitated that I explore new interests. Since that year was 2020, my options were limited. But as the world was shutting down, I was opening my eyes to what was already around me. I noticed the mossy earth beneath my feet and the canopy of trees shading me from the sun and hosting birds singing and swooping. Long neglected landscaping with hardy anabelle hydrangeas, overgrown ground cover, and my great grandmother's “pinks” (phlox), longing to be nurtured. Returning to nature in my own backyard continues to be enjoyable and life-giving, both in the labor and the rest. I began the work of clearing, restoring, and creating the landscape which is still in progress. The bird calls and songs started to sound like music for my soul. I started learning to identify the birds using the Merlin app from Cornell Lab (not sponsored, just a great app!). Feeders, nesting boxes, binoculars, and photography came next. The first nesting box placed in our backyard, newly coined “the haven,” was for bluebirds. The second year, we finally had residents: Carolina chickadees. Our disappointment at the lack of bluebirds quickly turned to delight as we got to know these cute little birds who are amazingly curious, courageous, resourceful, and resilient. Here’s some of what we’ve learned about carolina chickadees:
Habitat
Chickadees are year-round residents of the southeastern United States. They reside in various wooded areas, such as forests, parks, and well-wooded suburbs where they have access to food and shelter.
Appearance
These chickadees are 4-5 inches long and weigh only 0.3-0.4 ounces! Their wingspan is 6-8 inches. They are easy to identify with their black cap and bib, white cheeks, and gray wings.
Songs and Calls
True to their name, chickadees often announce themselves with a “chick-a-d-d-d-d” call. They have multiple other calls and songs, commonly one of many variations of “hey sweetie” or “fee-bee”. These are used to maintain contact in a flock, establish dominance, defend territory, mate, and, of course, when young, beg for food.
Diet
Chickadees are skilled foragers and enjoy a diet of caterpillars, small insects, and fruits. At feeders, they enjoy black oil sunflower seeds, peanut chips, and suet. Chickadees hide sunflower seeds in the nooks and crannies of trees to return to later… and, impressively, remember where they have hidden them! During the breeding season, a set of parents may take 300-500 caterpillars per day to the nest box to feed their babies.
Nesting
Chickadees often nest in cavities found in dead trees. The nests are constructed with green moss and lined with mammal hair or plant fiber. They also use nest boxes with dimensions smaller than a bluebird house. In our nesting box, they lined it with green moss and it looked like the “hair” component was fur from our puppy! It is important to place a baffle on the pole beneath the nesting box to protect the box from predators such as snakes and raccoons.
Baby ‘dees
In Tennessee, eggs are laid from mid-March through April. Chickadees average a “clutch” of 4-6 eggs, which hatch 14-15 days later. Both adults stay busy feeding the young. The young fledge, or leave the nest, after 17-18 days. The young then remain with their parents for two more weeks, then are off to start their own journeys.
When preparing your backyard for chickadee and other bird visitors, first and foremost, create a safe environment for these friends. Clean the feeders on a regular basis. Maintain fresh water sources. Keep cats indoors. Prevent window strikes by using decals or drawing with washable markers. Limit or eliminate use of “-cides,” including pesticides, herbicides, fungicides, and insecticides. This summer, take a moment to observe the activity already going on around you, whether at home or at a local park. By simply “paying attention” I have gained so much joy. Though my daughters are out of the house, my “nest” is still full.
By James Hearn
In the world of gardening, advice is plentiful. It comes from neighbors, social media influencers, product packaging, and seasoned family members. While often well-intentioned, this deluge of information can be contradictory and confusing. Adopting the principles of scientific literacy, as detailed in resources like WSU Extension's "Scientific literacy for the citizen scientist," empowers gardeners to navigate this landscape with confidence, turning their gardens into places of learning and successful cultivation.
At its core, scientific literacy is about critical thinking. For the gardener, it means developing a toolkit to assess the quality of information before putting a new technique into practice or spending money on a promising product.
Distinguishing Between Evidence and Anecdote: An anecdote is a personal story: "I tried coffee grounds around my hydrangeas, and they thrived!" Evidence, in contrast, involves systematic observation and data, ideally from a controlled experiment. While anecdotes can inspire new ideas, evidence provides a more reliable basis for action. The scientific method, which begins with a question and proceeds through testing and data collection, is designed to move beyond the anecdotal.
Evaluating Research Sources and Recognizing Limitations: Not all information is created equal. A university extension publication or a peer-reviewed journal article carries more weight than a personal blog or a company's promotional website. It’s also crucial to understand that every experiment has limitations. A study conducted in a specific climate or soil type might not yield the same results elsewhere. Acknowledging these limitations is a hallmark of good science.
Marketing Claims vs. Scientific Findings: The goal of marketing is to sell a product. Claims of "miraculous growth" or "revolutionary results" should be met with healthy skepticism. A scientifically literate gardener asks: Where is the data to support this claim? Was the research independent or funded by the company itself?
Developing a Skeptical Yet Open Mindset: The goal isn't to be cynical but to be inquisitive. A skeptical gardener questions claims and seeks evidence but remains open to new ideas that are supported by credible information. This balanced approach is the foundation of lifelong learning.
To put this mindset into practice, gardeners can use established frameworks for evaluating information.
The CRAAP Test: This is a simple yet powerful acronym for assessing sources:
Currency: How recent is the information?
Relevance: Does it directly apply to your situation?
Authority: Who is the author or organization, and what are their credentials?
Accuracy: Is the information supported by evidence? Can you verify it from other sources?
Purpose: Why does this information exist? Is it to educate, persuade, or sell something?
Recognizing Peer-Reviewed Research: This is the gold standard for scientific information. Before being published, a peer-reviewed article has been scrutinized and validated by other experts in the same field.
Understanding Statistical Significance: When research mentions that a result is "statistically significant," it means there is a very low probability that the observed outcome was due to random chance. This adds a level of confidence in the findings.
A family and childhood full of gardening gave Class of 2025 intern Glenn Kiger his introduction to gardening and he has never lost interest. Growing up in North Carolina, Glenn’s parents had a big garden, as did their close neighbor, and Glenn spent hours watching and listening and learning as both worked and discussed their vegetable gardens. Unlike many kids, he remembers enjoying working in the garden as a child and eating what was grown, both the fresh vegetables and those his mother had canned or preserved in some way. In addition to his parents being gardeners, Glenn also had other family members who were farmers and gardeners and aunts who had a fish farm.
After his second retirement in 2024, Glenn knew he wanted to take classes of some kind because he loves learning and decided Master Gardener was a good place to start. He is hoping to use what he is learning in class to continue to improve his small yard in East Nashville. His ultimate goal is to have a beautiful, low maintenance yard that attracts birds and butterflies that he and his wife can enjoy for years. Gardening is a form of relaxation for him most of the time, but he recently injured an elbow while digging out some dead Pampas grass and has wisely decided to have someone else remove the remaining plants. He currently has vegetable and herb gardens in place and he also has some flowers and landscaping that were installed by someone else, but plans to restructure those in the future. His MG volunteer experience so far has been at Ellington, Meigs Middle School, and the Nashville Cemetery but is excited about working at Shelby Park too as it is close to his home.
Glenn and his wife are parents to 5 sons, 3 biological and 2 that were adopted, and have one grandson who is 3. Before moving to Tennessee, Glenn’s career in health-care management took them to several states including Texas, Louisiana, Virginia and North Carolina. He retired from the healthcare field in 2017 after 37 years and then became a full-time tutor at John Overton High School, where he enjoyed working with kids and the freedom to work greatly reduced hours compared to his previous career. He also became the boys tennis coach, which he continues doing even though he stopped tutoring in 2024. He says it is a great part-time job that only lasts 2.5 months per year, and he has played tennis most of his life. Travel is another interest and with a family wedding coming up in Ecuador, he is looking forward to that trip. Hiking, going to the theater and ballroom dancing are other hobbies he and his wife enjoy and along with gardening, will have more time to enjoy in retirement.
By Genma Holmes
Seventy-four years ago this month, 23 Black women invited by educator Blanche Ennix and Ruth McAlpin, wife of Tennessee State University Agriculture professor Dr. Neal McAlphin, gathered in the home of the McAlpins for a garden club interest meeting. At the meeting, the women discussed forming a new garden club that would be inclusive of the Black community. During the 1940’s, after World War II, garden clubs were extremely popular throughout the country. But due to society norms of the time, Black women were excluded from participating in the established Nashville garden clubs.
The meeting at the McAlpins would not only challenge who participated in garden clubs, but the women became a powerful, nurturing force in Black Nashville, and later, Greater Nashville at large. Their garden club would go beyond the scope of gardening and beautification of the home; their club led many firsts in horticulture, civic engagement, and education in Nashville and around the country.
From their first interest meeting in 1951, the women worked extremely hard learning about plants and flowers. At each meeting, the members brought in complete assignments on growing, arranging, and preserving flowers. According to their history compiled by charter member Dolores Crump, “They set up workshops, and clinics directed by flower arrangement designers, certified judges, and well-schooled gardeners who challenged them to use their imagination to create beauty from the simplest of household items, few flowers, and limited foliage.”
The newly found garden club was named The Ardent Gardeners Association by devoted gardener Ruth Grant’s husband, Dr. William H. Grant, a local physician. He was genuinely impressed with the club’s enthusiasm and desire to learn about the gardening industry.
At every opportunity, members visited flower shows, participated in flower arranging clinics, and visited gardens throughout their first year. At the end of their hectic year of learning and growing in their gardening knowledge, Ruth McAlpin encouraged the members to share all their newly acquired skills with the community.
The Ardent Gardeners’ first flower show on July 11, 1952, at the Hadley Park Community Center (left to right): Henri Dixon, Rhea Tarleton, Ruth McAlpin, Ruth Grant, Dora McClelland, Hazel Burley, Rachel Lindsay, Arthurine Welch, Lillian Thomas, Mary Walker, Carrie Denney, Martha Allen, Mattie Claiborne, Kathleen Lawrence, Mattie Flowers, Alberta Bontemps, Elizabeth Petway Lowe, Eva Nash, Blanche Ennix, and Thelma Treherne. Ardent Gardeners Association Records, 1951-1998, Box 3, Folder 7
The Ardent Gardeners made their public debut on July 11, 1952. Club members invited Black Nashville to the first flower show presented by Black women to the Black community. The gala was held at the newly built Hadley Park Community Center because it was the only place outside the members’ homes, churches, and schools available for such an exhibition. According to Dolores Crump’s history notes, "After the success of their first show, members were encouraged through the counseling of Dr. Neal McAlpin, the club’s chief consultant in the areas of plant care, garden planning, and flower preservation, to incorporate specimens from their yards and gardens in their shows.
With his encouragement, the Ardent Gardeners continued to study, grow, improve, and learn. They invited certified judges to inspect and evaluate their flower exhibits. The ribbons earned by the members were valued treasure.
Meet Charter Member Mrs. Hazel Suggs Burley
Kicking off “Christmas in July” with Mrs. Burley in her home.
Mrs. Hazel Suggs Burley, a charter member of Ardent Gardeners, is still with us at the tender age of 104. I had the fantastic opportunity to visit with Mrs. Burley to hear her many gardening stories and the importance of chartering the Ardent Gardeners Association in 1951. I reviewed her numerous newspaper clippings, gardening programs, and photos from yesteryear. I was in awe of the attention to detail that was evident among all the gardeners.
News article on Ardent Gardeners members with students.
Mrs. Burley shared with me the many impactful projects sponsored by the Ardent Gardeners Association over seven decades. They made floral arrangements for various organizations, including a girls’ home, veterans, Tennessee State University, Fisk University, Meharry College, and Hubbard Hospital, among others. Ardent Gardeners took students on field trips to visit gardens and exposed them to horticulture, art, and culture.
I shared with Mrs. Burley photos from my garden with my grandchildren. I also gave her updates on the number of volunteers who want to help restore the Doris Campbell Busby Memorial Garden in the atrium at Nashville General Hospital. When I mentioned the garden, her eyes beamed with pride. She immediately started sharing about the challenges it took to get the Doris Campbell Busby Memorial Garden open and the significant role it played at Hubbard Hospital.
Doris Campbell Busby Memorial Garden
The Doris Campbell Busby Memorial Garden, appropriately named after garden club member Doris Campbell Busby, had become one of the signature projects of the Ardent Gardener Association during the 70's and 80's. The club named it after Doris Campbell Busby, director of volunteer services at Hubbard Hospital, to honor her leadership that made the garden possible and her fierce devotion to volunteering and giving back to the Nashville community. Doris was known for "voluntelling" friends and family from various civic organizations and clubs to help lift the spirits of patients, families, staff, and faculty. In 1995, the hospital underwent expansion and renovation, resulting in the removal of the garden. In 2000, the garden was slightly smaller but restored along with the fountain to its former grandeur.
MGofDC Crosspollinate with Ardent Gardeners
This year, several MGofDC members cross-pollinated their time and passion to help bring the Doris Campbell Busby Memorial Garden back to its former purpose. My involvement with both organizations started years before 2025.
In 2014, Ardent Gardner member Phyllis Cain asked me to be a speaker for her monthly meeting. Phyllis knew my family’s history and their love of gardening. She asked me to talk about my grandmother, mom, and a host of aunties who were known for their gardening skills. The women in my family were part of a garden club in Mississippi. Gardeners on steroids, their monthly meetings were legendary in our small town. Their meetings, the club’s mission, activities, and topics closely followed what I had read from the archives of Ardent Gardeners, Philadelphia’s Oasis Garden Club, South Carolina, North Carolina, and Virginia Black Women Garden Clubs. The gardeners in my family, like many members of Ardent Gardeners, were educators who touched the lives of their students as well as the communities they resided in.
When I became an MGofDC intern, I sought to engage with projects that would nourish my soul, support my Marine son's mental well-being, reconnect me with my family's gardening heritage, and foster connections among people from diverse backgrounds. After a few suggestions I made received no traction, I continued to look for gardening projects that would not pay homage to institutional strongholds of the past. Thankfully, with the MGofDC's flex hours, a few of the hours I am spending in the Busby Garden would help maintain my certification in MGofDC.
After the shutdowns, I accepted an invitation to become part of Ardent Gardeners by the immediate past president, Alyssa Peacock Leonard (‘16). She had a burning desire to bring back the Doris Campbell Busby Memorial Garden to its glory days. The Busby Garden Chairperson, Faye Weaver (’14), also had a fire inside of her to restore the garden after years of not being able to work in the garden like she had before COVID. She said once, “We are going to need help. It is going to be a huge undertaking. But I know we can get it done if we stay focused.”
Ask and The Doors Will Open
MGofDC Members, Genma Holmes (’23), Alyssa Peacock Leonard (‘16), and Faye Weaver (’14) restoring the Doris Campbell Busby Memorial Garden.
Patsy Campbell Petway sitting under tree donated by the Ardent Gardeners members.
Ardent Gardeners’ names plaque Commemoration was dedicated in 1984. Two members, Hazel Suggs Burley and Pasty Campbell Petway, are still members of Ardent Gardeners.
Pascha Sweat ('23) and Susanna Hadley ('23) were speakers at the Ardent Gardeners Women's History Month Luncheon at the meeting hosted by me. Also in attendance were Master Gardeners Alyssa Peacock Leonard, Charity Bunyon (’24), and Gayle Akins (’23).
Faye’s determination to seek out volunteers paid off. After many walked by the unlocked doors to the atrium and witnessed MGofDCs volunteering, others were eager to play in the dirt in the garden. Doctors in white coats, nurses, hospital staff, college faculty, Greek organizations, and members from various garden clubs signed up to volunteer.
Eleanor James (Intern ‘26) shared a wealth of information on keeping the plants healthy in an atrium, Susanna Hadley (’23), owner of Nashville Lawn Care & Landscaping Services, shared her expertise, and the next steps needed to open the garden to the public.
Follow along each month as I share the journey to restoring the Doris Campbell Busby Memorial Garden. The Ardent Garden Association will celebrate its 75th Anniversary in 2026! Please join us as we share their history and contributions to the Greater Nashville Area!
Get to know our 2025 Co-Recording Secrtary: VIcki Toth
What is your favorite thing about gardening?
Being outside experiencing the tranquility and noticing the small things in the garden. And in the end, the final product. The beauty, simplicity, and how things can change overnight and from year to year. What led you to become a master gardener?
My mother would introduce me to one of her friends and say, "You know, SHE is a MASTER GARDENER!" I felt like it was such a special thing that I vowed to one day achieve that distinction as well. What is your favorite thing about being a master gardener?
I have learned so much and continue to learn. Every meeting, garden visit, and interaction with my fellow MGs serves as fuel to try new things. And of course, the friendships and acquaintances that would never have developed without the Master Gardener experience. What is your favorite memory during your time as a master gardener?
I am from the Class of 2023 and we had more fun in class - it was Amy's first year as well and it seemed so special. I really missed the classes once they were over. What is your favorite season as a gardener?
Spring How many years have you been gardening?
Since I was 7 years old and my father had an acre of vegetables that seemed to need weeding way too often.
Have you always gardened in TN or did you start somewhere else? What is the same/different?
I started gardening in Western Michigan where it could frost as late as the end of May. Memorial Day weekend seemed to be when everyone planted without fear of it freezing. Also, it could snow in October so we picked ALL the tomatoes early, whatever color they were to avoid the freezing temperatures.
If you were moving and could only take one plant with you, what would it be?
If it were a tree, it would be my ginkgo. My orchids would be my plant choice (indoor) and peonies (outdoor). What are some staples that you will always grow in your garden?
Iris, peonies, echinacea, hydrangeas, asters, pentas, ferns, allium, lilies, lantana, daffodils, hibiscus, hollies, kniphofia, coreopsis, azaleas, and lots of herbs. I love trying new things and try to have something new every year. They don't always cooperate and we have lots of deer in and around our neighborhood so I must go with deer resistant plants. They just started eating my hydrangeas this year, among other things!!
What is the most important lesson you have learned about gardening?
Each year is different depending on the weather and climate. You can't always predict what will work and won't, but that is part of the fun, right? So you start each season very hopeful and go from there.
By: James Hearn
As Master Gardeners, our commitment to horticultural education naturally extends to contributing to scientific understanding. Our individual garden spaces offer unique opportunities to participate in broader research initiatives through citizen science. This collaborative approach allows us to collect valuable data that directly aids professional scientists in their studies of the natural world. It's a mutually beneficial relationship: we deepen our understanding of environmental processes, and we provide critical information that addresses real-world scientific questions.
There are numerous citizen science opportunities available to gardeners, many of which are directly relevant to pressing ecological concerns. For instance, observations of seasonal changes in plant and animal life, known as phenology, are crucial. By recording the timing of events like first bloom or leaf-out in our gardens, we contribute to national phenology networks. This vast dataset helps scientists track how climate change may be altering natural cycles, offering vital insights into how species are adapting or struggling to cope with shifting environmental conditions.
Beyond general phenology, many projects specifically focus on climate change monitoring. These initiatives might involve observing plant responses to unusual weather patterns or tracking changes in insect populations potentially linked to rising temperatures. Our localized observations, when aggregated with thousands of others, contribute to a comprehensive picture of these large-scale environmental shifts.
Recognizing the critical role of pollinators, extensive pollinator research relies on citizen contributions. We can assist by documenting insect visitors to our flowering plants, recording visitation frequencies, or identifying plant varieties that are particularly attractive to native bees and butterflies. This data informs scientists about pollinator health, helps identify at-risk species, and supports crucial conservation efforts, aligning perfectly with our mission to promote sustainable gardening practices.
Unfortunately, our gardens can also be sites where invasive species emerge. Participating in invasive species tracking projects empowers us to act as early detection specialists. By reporting new sightings of non-native plants or pests, we help researchers and land managers monitor their spread and develop effective control strategies. This vigilance is essential for protecting local ecosystems and, by extension, our cultivated landscapes.
To effectively participate in these valuable research efforts, several steps can guide us. The initial step involves finding appropriate research projects. Many universities, botanical gardens, and environmental organizations manage citizen science programs. Platforms like SciStarter are excellent resources for locating projects based on specific topics, geographic location, or time commitment. It's beneficial to select projects that align with our gardening interests and current activities.
Next, it's important to match your garden's characteristics to research needs. A small urban garden might be perfectly suited for a focused pollinator observation project, while a larger property with diverse plant life could contribute to broader phenology studies or invasive species surveys. No garden is too small or too informal; every observation holds potential scientific value.
Once a project is chosen, understanding and adhering to its reporting protocols is essential. Most programs provide clear, user-friendly instructions on what to observe, how to record data (often via online forms or dedicated smartphone apps), and the required frequency of submissions. Following these guidelines ensures the accuracy and utility of our contributions.
With her blue hair and easy laugh, Rachel Esterday is a Class of 2025 intern who is easily recognized. Her interest and love for gardening started back in 2020 when she began following several gardeners on Instagram, and as she continued to learn from them she also had extra time to devote to gardening once the pandemic began. A desire to develop a slower pace of life that is more connected to the earth and her community grew in her after living in New York City for 10 years. Moving back to her hometown of Nashville in 2017, she left behind her busy city life as a photographer specializing in events like weddings and bar mitzvahs. In Nashville she initially worked with her father in his real estate business, serving as the director of the real estate school, but after several years decided a desk job didn’t fit the lifestyle she wanted. Now she works at Trader Joe’s, where you will find her in charge of the flower department, a job she enjoys both because of the flowers and her co-workers. Rachel also enjoys hiking in the Warner Parks and indoor climbing in her free time.
As a gardener, Rachel has learned to be more patient and trust mother nature in the natural process of growing plants. One winter she successfully grew broccoli in the winter which was a gardening win, but has struggled with planting spinach at the right time. Squash has also been difficult because of the amount of bugs her plants have attracted, and she was excited about the MG guest speaker on insects. She chooses vegetables based on whether she likes to eat them and would love to grow around 50% of her own food in the future. Along with gardening, she has an interest in learning to preserve the food she grows as she is concerned about the amount of food that is wasted on a regular basis. Flowers are also a part of her garden and she wants to add more in the future. Some of her goals are to plant more companion plants, attract pollinators, and get better at “coexisting with nature.” Her plants are all grown in containers for now due to the many moles in her yard and her dog Pepper who also loves to dig in the dirt but in an unhelpful way. Rachel has volunteered in the garden at Belle Meade, which is close to her home, and hopes to explore other sites also as her work schedule allows.
By Blake Davis
“The greatest fine art of the future will be the making of a comfortable living from a small piece of land.”— Abraham Lincoln
“The trouble is, you think you have time.”— Jack Kornfield
This article is about time. But isn’t everything, in the end?
As a gardener, I rely so much on tools: hands, hoses, hori-hori knives, carts- But the most effective and most frustrating tool I have is time. The source of both growth and my deepest traumas.
When my wife and I first looked at the home we now live in, she (a seasoned realtor and appraiser) focused on calculating valuation comps and appreciation projections. I, however, stood in the front yard, pointing to a towering 50-year-old Southern Magnolia (Magnolia grandiflora) with wild, scraggly limbs and a canopy large enough to hide a secret garden beneath it, saying “You can’t buy time!”
Our children dubbed it The Totoro Tree-a nod to the ancient camphor tree in a beloved classic Japanese children’s film where forest spirits live in a hidden hollow among the roots.
I’ve never heard flutes or seen a cat-shaped bus emerge from ours, but it does offer wonder, summer fragrance, a buffet for pollinators and perfect climbing branches.
Since moving in, my four-year-old son has helped me plant more Southern Magnolias in my back yard. “Only” four feet tall, these young trees -just like him- seem like seedlings next to The Totoro Tree. I told him that as he grows, these trees will grow with him, and someday, when they are both much older, he might be able to climb on them.
What I didn’t say out loud: by that time, his daddy may not be around.
The Long Shadow of Time
I don’t think I am unique as a gardener in reaching for the earth to work through complex internal issues that I’m not yet able to articulate. Tending my garden I nurture my soul. I turn the soil, pull out stunted or diseased mindsets, examine their roots, and cut back invasive thoughts that block the light from penetrating and energizing the ideas I want to grow. I try to water the perspectives that bring beauty into the world, amending the soil to nourish areas that benefit my family, my community and our future.
I grew up with a diagnosis that told me I wouldn’t live to see adulthood, so I spent my life like a gardener racing winter – planting fast, building frantically, striving to see something bloom before the frost came.
But a few years ago, a breakthrough treatment was developed that changed the prognosis. For the first time, there is a good chance I might live into my 50’s, 60’s or beyond. For me, the last several years have been like watching fall begin to turn, but instead of winter, spring began again.
Friends ask what that feels like. I’m still digging for the answer. It’s taking years for my internal clock to recalibrate. Where I once planted with frantic urgency to account for the coming freeze, I’m learning to plant magnolias with the hope I might one day sit beneath them with my son.
Depth Over Speed
The race against time is still engrained in me. I want fast, tall, brightly blooming plants. I don’t want to wait the years it takes for beneficial natives to establish with minimal blooms, even if their work behind the scenes is vital and deeply rooted.
Two years ago, I drove to McMinnville, TN (considered the “Nursery Capital of the World”) to buy the largest hydrangeas I could find because I wanted blooms- big and fast.
And they delivered.
Last week I came home from traveling to find a staggering number of flowers. So abundant and large it’s impossible for me to keep up. My kids and I cut them for neighbors, guests leave with handfuls and delivery drivers drop off packages but leave with cups of flowers in their trucks. And the blooms just keep coming.
I love it. I’m also beginning to see this kind of planting differently. These blooms were bought, not cultivated. We are gardeners, we know the patience required to tend slow growers. But I’m still learning to trust time. I didn’t understand the impact of slow growth. So, I bought maturity. I rushed the blooms. I shaped the yard to match my urgency.
A Legacy of Gardening
Last week, sitting in rocking chairs side by side, I told my mother -the writer who taught me everything I know and still ruthlessly wields her red pen on my writings– about this subject I’ve been trying to wrestle into words.
I asked her what gardens she remembered, and how gardening has changed in her nearly 80 years.
She led me back in time through memories vivid enough to be weeks old: Her maternal grandparents garden in Tallahassee with clear scents of Saint Augustine Grass and Confederate Jasmine. A canopy of forsythia bent low enough to make a magical tunnel connected to her earliest childhood memories. The taste of preserves made from freshly picked figs at her paternal grandparent’s farm in South Georgia. A giant dogwood that stood in her father’s yard with a hidden alcove under its canopy “Much like your Totoro Tree,” she said- where she’d go to hide when her siblings were bickering.
What brought it all into place for me was her memories when she was a little girl tagging along with her father as he drove throughout South Georgia, visiting the graves of their ancestors and taking cuttings from the plants growing by their headstones. Those cuttings have passed through time. I clearly remember the bushes lining my grandparent’s walkway- never knowing they came from graveside cuttings.
The walkway to my grandfather’s house in rural South Georgia, lined by boxwoods- taken from gravesite cuttings 70+ years ago.In the background are camellia bushes started as cuttings from my great grandmother’s garden in Tallahassee, which, in turn, grew from cuttings taken from her own mother’s garden. I happened to take this picture when my mother and I were driving through the area roughly 20 years ago, long before I knew the history.
“Gardens today are made to be showcases,” she said. Explaining that in my grandparents and great grandparents’ day they didn’t have places to buy showy, bloom-ready plants grown on fields of landscape fabric, in pots with shallow roots or girdled growth, then shipped in a box truck hundreds of miles to stores and nurseries.
They took cuttings. From grandparents. From neighbors. From chapels. From family cemeteries planted in grief by long deceased ancestors. They rooted them, let them adapt slowly as they reached into the family soil. They cross-bred plants and named new ones after friends and relatives. She told me there’s a Nelle Demilly camellia in Tallahassee’s Kilearn Gardens named after my great, great grandmother.They watched over years as the plants became a part of the family’s narrative, rooting generations of gardeners into a story now told to me from a rocking chair on a balmy June afternoon.
What Am I Leaving Behind?
Modern gardening plays right into my time-based trauma. It rewards fast results and curb appeal. I know how to pick the biggest plants with the healthiest roots, spread some 10-10-10, automate the watering line and walk away expecting it to thrive, fast-forwarding intimacy, history, story and legacy.
I don’t believe there’s anything particularly wrong with this in moderation. But I am a Master Gardener. I’m learning to grow more than plants. I’m learning to grow memories. I’m learning to root in relationship. I’m learning to let the yard shape me- planting native seeds that need cold stratification and time. They may never burst with color, but their roots will grow deeper, stronger, benefitting the water, the soil and the ecosystem. Shaping themselves to expand the yard, benefitting those who will come after me, regardless of whether I get to pick and eat the fruit alongside them.
I want to garden like my great grandparents, like their children. Like my mother did. Personally. Meaningfully. Patiently letting the roots grow alongside the story of my family.
I want my son to learn to wait. I want him to let the space shape him as he grows, crowning towards the light, shyly letting other trees share the sun. Less showy. More rooted. Fully aware.
He may not remember the conversations with his daddy while planting. But I pray, years from now, he finds himself under the magnolias we planted -the baby Totoro Trees- telling his son about how he used to hide there when his siblings were bickering.
And maybe, just maybe, I’ll be sitting in a rocking chair beside him, still able to remember the smells of the gardenias on my grandfather’s farm in Georgia, or the lilac in my front yard gifted by my wife’s aunt, who took it as a cutting from her great grandfather’s garden.
After all, we can buy as many trees as we want… but we can’t buy the memories of planting them together.
This and the first (Magnolia) picture was taken by Sara Kerhoulas (https://www.instagram.com/sara_kerhoulas_photo)
Master Gardener Reflection:
This summer, beyond giving fresh blooms, I’m going to try propagating plants… not to plant in my own yard, but to give away to family, friends and neighbors.
To pass on something rooted in time.To help someone else turn over their soil.To grow a memory that can outlive me.
“What is a weed? A plant whose virtues have never been discovered.”-Ralph Waldo Emerson
I’m convinced my whole street thinks I’m crazy. My neighbor whose backyard abuts mine (so obviously I call them my “butt-neighbors”) told me last week their dog doesn’t even bark anymore. It's so accustomed to the thumps and scrapes of my digging as my headlamp bobs like a tired firefly at the back of my yard at 11pm.
I recently visited a friend at their new home, looking over his backyard he told me “Every time I come out here, I ask myself: what would Blake do with this yard?” I said, “Oh, that’s easy. I would overextend myself.”
I would call that my garden specialty.
Whenever I see an announcement of a Master Gardener tour, I say “I’d love to do that…. Once I get caught up”. I’ve been saying that for 4 years now.
I hear these sage gardening proverbs like “One year’s seeds, seven years’ weeds.” and “The best time to plant a tree was ten years ago.”So I need to stay ahead of the weeds, while planting trees, prepare for spring, lay drip lines for summer, start mowing, oh and I’ve got that plant I kept alive in a pot all winter I need to get into the ground. I don’t know where to begin, so I’ll just start a new, completely unrelated project.
My son, exceptionally excited, helps me with a project
If I asked my counselor to pinpoint the root of my anxious ambitions, she’d ask a sassy question like “Blake can you think of any traumas in your life that might manifest itself in striving to overachieve by pressing against time even at the cost of overextending your body?” To which I’d say something like “Ugh, shut up Patricia with your… wise and smart counsel.”
I’ve got a great resume of potential factors: Diagnosed ADHD (my ‘quirky gift’), born with a terminal disease with a 25-year life expectancy, experimentally homeschooled, and sleep deprived with three kids under five- to name a few of the big-hitters.
So that’s why this spring I participated in “No Mow Month”, a project promoted by the Cumberland River Compact to support pollinators by letting your yard grow wild.
I’m all for it, I love bees, I am fully invested in our Mason Bee program. But let’s be real: Someone will deliver a sign to my yard that tells my neighbors it’s only out of control for NOBLE reasons? “I’m not behind, I’m saving the pollinators!... just ignore the squirrel horde of unfinished projects behind that curtain.” But here’s the thing: as my front yard grew wilder, I discovered which areas were weeds, and which had native plants I’d been mowing over every year to keep up with my neighbors.
While rushing to and from garden tasks, I found myself stopping and sipping my coffee as I watched mason bees flit around the tall grass, as dew soaks into my socks through my ugly green crocs. My wife has commented that there seem to be fewer mosquitoes this year, and I can’t describe the feeling that first mow evoked once the month was finished. The mess of my unmowed yard forced me to realize I was rushing because I wanted to prove I had control of things, not because it’s what I -or my garden- really needed.
But life, like the huge tree that fell on my fence last week, has a tendency to remind us that even the most meticulously laid drip line or brightest headlamp can not ensure our plans will succeed.
Me, probably wondering why I can’t seem to get anything done at the moment
My family welcomed a new baby in October, and just days later, our best friend was killed while running on the Mill Creek Greenway. Grief and a third child stripped away any illusions I had of control over my life, and as we navigated through the hurricane of emotions, the joy of new life and the chasm of loss, we decided our focus for this year would be ‘no striving’.
Now anytime I start to talk about my garden tasks from a perspective of frustration or anxiety, my wife asks me: “Is your garden a place of rest, or a place of striving?”
Rest is not natural for me. I get so fixated on what is unfinished that I forget to sit and enjoy the garden I’ve grown.
No Striving
So this year, I’m learning how to focus on my blooming hydrangeas without obsessing over the crabgrass popping up in the mulch at its base. I’m trying to stop comparing my garden (or my life) to some idealized perfection I’ve built in my own mind. I’m forcing myself to stop and sit quietly and really look at what’s growing.
This is my challenge to myself this year: When working in my garden, I walk as slowly as I can. Training my mind and body to keep focused on the journey across my yard, noticing every small bud I usually rush by on my way to fulfill tasks. I’m scheduling one day each month to be an active visitor in my garden: I’m not allowed to pull weeds, move yard structures, dig, mow, spray or prune. Just be present, rest, and play with my kids in the space we’ve worked so hard to grow.
Sometimes my gracious wife still has to call me out when my mind gets consumed by my garden tasks. My butt-neighbor’s dog may still see some lights in my backyard, but now it’s me, six-month-old strapped into his backpack, stomping through weeds and catching fireflies with my 2 and 4 year old children.
The “third time is a charm” may apply to many things, but for one MG intern it was the third time she submitted an application that she was finally accepted for a class. Persistence is something that Amy Peterson has in abundance, whether in her passion for gardening, her career or her volunteer work.
Shortly before Covid hit in 2020, Amy moved into a new house and soon found herself with extra time and a place to garden. Her mother had enjoyed container gardening but that was her only real experience planting and growing things outside up to that point. She learned quickly that she loved having her hands in the dirt and experimented with lots of plants, and also discovered she had lots to learn when some of the plants didn’t survive. The owner of a plant store near her home turned into a friend and garden buddy as they talked often during the pandemic and would share ideas and plants and make trips to McMinnville together. Amy says having a friend who owns a delivery truck is a wonderful thing! Describing herself as a “cramscaping chaos gardener,” Amy still loves to choose new plants she loves for her garden and see what happens, but is also becoming a big believer in the concept of Right Plant- Right Place. She values the knowledge she is gaining in the MG classes and plans to put her garden on the garden tour. One part of caring for her yard she does not like is lawn care so she leaves the mowing, edging and everything related to others. Her newest yard project is adding a small pond where a dead Crape Myrtle was removed and she hopes to fill it with native aquatic plants.
Amy works full-time in the trust and wealth management area of banking and has over 20 years in the field. When she applied for the MG class in the past it was for night classes and she is happy she could arrange her work schedule to attend the Tuesday morning sessions. She also serves as the President of the Tennessee Kidney Foundation Board of Directors, a local non- profit that seeks to raise awareness of kidney disease and provide education, assistance and other resources to persons in middle TN. This is a topic very near to Amy’s heart, as her father had kidney disease and she donated a kidney to him.
Although not a native Nashvillian, Amy has lived here since 1995 and has developed a strong circle of friendships that she greatly values. Kayaking on the Buffalo River and trips to the beach are two of her favorite things to do with friends, but an ideal weekend for her would start with a cool and rainy Saturday morning with no plans and turn into a sunny afternoon where she could play in the dirt as long as she wanted.
In addition to the gardening knowledge she is gaining, Amy also appreciates the community of Master Gardeners and how accepting and friendly everyone is. Future classes of Master Gardeners are sure to say the same when they meet Amy Peterson.
The Master Gardeners of Davidson County
P. O. Box 41055 Nashville, TN 37204-1055
info@mgofdc.org
UT/TSU Extension, Davidson County
Amy Dunlap, ANR Extension Agent
1281 Murfreesboro Pike Nashville, TN 37217
615.862.5133
adunla12@utk.edu
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