what'cha growin'?
Early last week, I received an email from my friend Gayla Trail, the author and stunningly creative mind behind You Grow Girl, the website (and series of books) that promotes "gardening for the people." Gayla has written several books encouraging folks to take the plunge and garden, regardless of where they might be -- in a rural home with a huge plot of land, or a tiny city apartment with a fire escape full of pots. For many years I've watched her site for the evolution of her garden, particularly her stunning back yard in Toronto, and in a lot of ways she's sort of been my gardening "oracle," even though until a few weeks ago, I'd never actually planted my own.
So imagine my astonishment when her email invited me to participate in her new podcast series, What'cha Growin'?. I'm pretty sure she could hear me burst into laughter all the way in Canada.
"Gayla," I said, "I am a gardening idiot. I only started gardening a few weeks ago. My gardening philosophy thus far has been 'Blind Luck.' I have no idea what I'm doing."
"That's exactly what I want," she assured me. "I don't want my podcast series to be full of gardening experts, I want to share the experiences of gardeners at every stage --people who have been gardening for years, as well as those who are just starting out. I want you to represent a beginner."
"Well, hell, if 'neophyte' is what you want, then I'm definitely your man," I responded. "This is going to be hysterical. I'd love to do it!"
And so, last Friday, we recorded the episode, and it's now up on her site. I'd love for you to grab a cuppa, find somewhere comfortable to sit, and give a listen -- it was so much fun to do (and there's an enormous amount of me giggling -- do I really giggle that much?), what with me being somewhat incredulous that things are actually growing in my back yard, and her amusement that I expected anything else. She's also a wonderfully gentle and encouraging teacher, so if you've ever toyed with the idea of gardening but have been afraid to take the plunge, this would be a great podcast to listen to, without fear of being overwhelmed.
Click here to give it a listen.
And as part of putting together this podcast, Gayla asked me to share some photographs from my garden, and since it has been a while since I've updated you on its progress, I was happy to oblige. There are some of these images on her site, but here's what my little vegetable garden looks like as of a few days ago, with captions:
As far as how I'm gardening: I'm literally just watering all of these plants for about about 10 minutes in total every day it doesn't rain, pulling a weed if I see one (and I'm in the mood to bend over), and then just hoping for the best. So far this seems to be working, but it's early days, yet. I'm taking it day by day, and the brutal Houston summer that will inevitably come might just send me running for cover.
But so far, so good.
And again, more at Gayla's site.
Song: Blue in green by Gretchen Parlato