Whenever I feel stupid about my computer abilities
(and that happens a lot), I try to console myself with these simple words of wisdom—no one, I mean NO one,
ever came into this world knowing how to use a computer.
Everyone had to be taught. (Take that, you smug
cyber-crazed know-it-alls.)
It’s the same with gardening.
Let’s say you’re a brand-spankin’ new, novice, green (in the old sense)
gardener. The words “Bin there, done that” have never crossed your horticultural lips. You don’t know nuthin’. Neither did I.
The first time I gardened, I picked up the trowel and looked at it. Hard. I truly wondered what to do next. The pointy end must surely go in the ground, I
concluded. But I wasn’t really sure.
Although I had grown up on a farm in Kansas and could plow a field on a
John Deere tractor and double-clutch a big truck loaded with wheat, I didn’t
know squat about gardening. So here I was, having just bought a “new” old Chicago house (built 1887) and someone had given me a flat of pansies.
I kept those pansies on the back porch steps for a week or so since I was
nervous about how to proceed. Plant them, sure, but how exactly? So I
procrastinated until I saw some of the leaves turning brown and realized I had
to do something—anything—before they all died.
And so I picked up the trowel.
Today I have a pretty good garden. People in my neighborhood sometimes walk out of their way to see it. But it’s so important to remember that I knew absolutely nothing when I began. Yet everybody can learn. Just like me.
That’s why we’re here at Chicagoland Gardening. To help you along, to give you information, to give you inspiration. And if you’re more experienced, we’re here for you too.
In a way I consider March-April the “real” beginning of the year. March is when I start planting seeds indoors. March is also when I make my annual pilgrimage down to Navy Pier for the Chicago Flower & Garden Show, held this year March 6-14. Here’s where I get a big shot of inspiration, information and ideas from the area’s top professionals. (See page 74 for details.)
If you’re considering picking up a trowel for the first time yourself, there’s plenty of time to dig out a little plot, maybe sow some lettuce and radish seeds in April, and think about buying some easy annuals (marigolds, petunias, salvia) around Memorial Day. You might even want to pick up a couple tomato plants—such a thrill when you harvest your first fruits.
At Chicagoland Gardening magazine we’re looking for brand-new gardeners to interview for upcoming stories. If you’re considering gardening for the first time this spring, or if you know someone who is, send me an email with “New Gardener”
in the subject line. Let’s talk.
