Introduction

Hello fellow gardeners and all. I am Tina Ramsey, an avid gardener who just happens to like to write and talk about gardening. Recently, our local paper, The Leaf Chronicle, requested bloggers with a community slant to participate in blogs. I was one of about four readers who responded to the request and the editors in charge have given me an opportunity to talk about my passion, gardening and life! I thank them.

I want to talk about gardening and life because to me, gardening is life. I love to garden because there is just something so doggoned satisfying about taking a little seed or piece of plant and watching it grow into a 10 foot tree or 3 x 3 foot shrub covered with flowers, or specially colored leaves or berries or whatever. Gardening is so diverse and changes almost hourly. Most gardeners will understand what I am saying and also understand why I walk through my garden at least two times a day. Some will say, no way! How can a garden change from the morning to the afternoon? Believe it or not, they do, or maybe part of it is that I miss something on my morning walk through that I catch on my afternoon walk through? Probably a little of both.

Anyhow, my number one goal with this blog is to share my love of gardening and to inspire others to also share their love of gardening and to garden! According to "Harris Interactive", gardening ranked as number six on a list of what people like to do in their spare time in 2004 (the latest year published). I have heard gardening is the number one hobby in America but could not find proof of this. More people like to garden than do housework which is really not suprising to me. It might have to do with the fact housework has to be done and gardening is usually optional; but I like to think people who garden do so because it is just so satisfying and rewarding.

The rewarding part of gardening comes into play not only when you can pick fresh produce and flowers for home use, but also in the pleasure and security of knowing exactly how your fresh produce is grown and most important to me, the wildlife gardens attract. Wildlife and plants are about life and we all have only one life to live so we must enjoy everyday!

This blog will cover topics as diverse as a bowling ball garden (yes-bowling balls) all the way through preparing the soil and what types of plants grow best here in middle Tennessee. I am not an expert on gardening but I do have a lot of experience (about 40 years in one form or another). That being said, I learn every single day just how much I do not know. Learning is another facet of gardening because in learning we change. If there is one indisputable fact about gardens it is that they change!

Just because I do something one way does not mean it is the best way, or that it will work for everyone. That is the beauty of blogs because we can share and learn from one another how we each do something. If what I do does work for you then by all means-let me know! I have never met a gardener who did not want to share his or her garden and bounty with other fellow gardeners. You will find gardeners to be very generous people.

I would love to hear from others about their gardens. Gardens can be a small pot of herbs on a windowsill or acres of ornamental gardens, but the key ingredient in gardening is living and loving and nurturing life. Any suggestions you would like to talk about will be openly accepted. There are limitless subjects concerning gardening and I cannot possibly talk about them all at once but will work in different subjects each posting.

For now, until this blog gets online postings, it will seem to be one-sided, but once we get going it will all become clear. In the meantime, now that you know why I like to garden-why do you garden? Write and let me know!

Bye for now, I have to get in the garden....