Spring Garden Lesson Part 1

Why a Gardening Lesson?

In uncertain times it can be comforting to

remember the things that humans have done for
years to keep us thriving as a species. When I
am stressed, I turn to gardening. Being a
successful gardener was once much more
essential for providing food for families. Today
many people still garden for many different
reasons, however most of us in America do not
have to garden to survive so it is in many ways a
lost art and a forgotten science.

For the next couple of weeks we will take a break from our traditional study
of chemistry in celebration of spring and the start of the gardening season.
There are many different types of gardens. I will share with you the types of
gardening I practice as well as other gardening types and will ask you to
consider what kind of garden you would create for yourself.

Mrs. Johnson’s Gardening History

I have always been interested in gardening. In junior high school I did a

science fair project on the benefits of compost on plant growth. I grew my
first garden when I was 15. We had a store called Natural Wonders in the
mall where I lived in Canton, Ohio where I bought a canister of wildflower
seeds and turned over the soil next to my house with a shovel. I don’t
remember exactly, but I think the garden was about 12 x 12 feet. I created
a path, scattered my seeds and began what would be an often repeated
practice throughout my life of bending over and examining the soil for signs
of life. It makes me think of Mark Watney in The Martian with his little potato
plant.
My next gardening project was not until my early 20s when I helped my
grandmother get her perennial garden under control. My grandmothers
garden is a special place tucked into a city neighborhood. From spring to
fall, anyone who visits visit grandma’s ends up walking around the garden
with her and enjoying the many blooming beauties. She will turn 90 this
month.

After that experience, I started working for a landscape company installing

and maintaining perennial gardens and decorative annual plantings. This is
where I first heard about butterfly gardens and fairy gardens. I later worked
at a nursery and learned just about every plant there is for gardens and
containers. During that time I also started to take a strong interest in plants
that were native to where I lived in Northeast Ohio.

My gardening career was put on hold for a few years as I finished my

degree in chemical engineering at the University of Akron and raised a son.
I could not give up gardening all together, however so I always kept
container gardens. After graduating and getting a job, I returned to creating
perennial gardens and at the urging of my father, an avid tomato and
pepper gardener, I started a couple tomato plants of my own. I also had my
first encounter with invasive species of the extreme variety and wish I could
say that I had won, but Japanese Knotweed is a dragon of the plant world
and soon I would be moving to West Virginia.

After living my whole life in the city, I was thrilled to finally live in the country
in Mineral Wells, WV and immediately took advantage of some flat land
behind my house to put in a massive garden. I have added additional
gardens since then and I’m sure that’s not the end of it, but my focus now is
on growing fruits and vegetables and edible and medicinal herbs as well as
growing large quantities of native plants for a business I started with my
sister in 2011 called Native Roots, Inc.

Instructions for the Lesson

To complete Part 1 of the gardening lesson, you are to do some research

on the different types of gardens and choose the type you would be
interested in creating. Use the links in the bullets under “Types of Gardens”
to help with your research. After reviewing the links you may want to do a
web search to learn more.

The types of gardens listed below are just a suggestion. Gardening is both
an art and a science and therefore the possibilities are endless. The fact is,
when it comes to gardening, it can be hard to choose just one so many
people combine styles. That is perfectly acceptable in this project as well.
That is one reason you have the option to choose more than one. Another
reason is that once you have an idea and a design plan, you will want to
create it, so having options increases the likelihood that one of those will
work as a starter garden in your situation. Given my business, I have a lot
of resources and knowledge to help you make your garden a reality if that
is your goal.

Types of Gardens

I have grouped the types of gardens into 3 categories: food & herbs, beauty
and ecological gardens.

Food and Herb Gardens

• Food Gardening for Beginners by eatingwell.com

• Food gardening and other resources from Cornell university
• Tips for growing a few garden in a small space – YouTube
video
• An page at gardenista.com showing many different types of
herb gardens
• A great video on a kitchen herb garden with Chef John. This
video also has great planting instructions.
• A video with more herb garden design ideas
• Gardening from seed. From The Old Farmers Almanac
• Seed sowing video
• Many of the weeds in your yard are edible here’s a couple
resources to learn more. Edible Wild Food or 12 Weeds You
Can Eat or Edible Weeds Likely Growing in Your Yard
Gardens for Beauty

• An internet search for perennial gardens will provide you with a

lot of resources and beautiful pictures. Here are a few:
• 25 best perennial flowers from Country Living
• Information and links to different perennial flower gardens
and links to design plans
• Ideas for Shade gardens from Pinterest
• Here are some great uses of colorful annuals
• A guide to designing annual flower beds
• Learn the names of some popular annuals
• Fairy Garden Gallery

Ecological Gardens

• Pollinator garden plant list from Monarch Watch

• Monarch Waystation Program
• The US Fish &Wildlife Service explains how you can help
support pollinators.
• The US Department of Agriculture tells us about rain garden s
• Creating a Bird Garden by gardening-for-wildlife.com

Assignment

Click on the link below titled “Garden Selection Form” to enter your garden
choices. Send me a note anytime if you want help or someone to talk
through your ideas with. This project is at your pace. It can be done in a
week or you can spend more time if you like.

Garden Selection Form