by Emma Murphy, Master Gardener

I’ve always loved nature and the environment, but my all consuming love for everything gardening didn’t hit until we owned our first home in West Rouge, Ontario. Finally, we had a place where we could put our own “stamp” on the landscape, and we loved trying new plants in our gardens.

We made a lot of mistakes in those beginning years, but over the past 30 years both I (and my husband) have learned so much. Most of that learning came through joining local horticultural societies and eventually (for me) becoming a Master Gardener (MG) in 2012 after taking the requisite courses and becoming part of my local MG group in Peterborough.

Reaching out to the Younger Generation

While we don’t have kids, we are grateful for all the youngsters in our Lakefield neighbourhood and this summer, our neighbour’s son, who is 3.5 years old, has shown an interest in gardening.

He first saw our lovely summer phlox in all shades of pink, purple and white in August and decided he would like it in ‘his garden’. So we proceeded with some hands on learning, digging up some plants (with his supervision), and replanting them in their front garden (after consulting with mom, who asked to have both pink and white in the garden).

This past week, little L saw me out in the garden planting bulbs, and his curiosity was peaked. His mom had picked up some Grape Hyacinth (Armeniacum) and I happened to have a few extra Daystemon Species Tulips, which we are naturalizing in our garden.

Species/botanical tulips originated in the Asia and Turkey back in the 1800s and are the basis of all our modern tulips. They are short, naturalize, and the Daystemon variety have white tipped star shaped yellow flowers. Bonus? They are deer and critter resistant.

So, rake and small spade in hand, this past weekend L, his mom and I cleared off the leaves in their front garden bed and proceeded to learn about how to plant bulbs.

L learned all about ‘pointy end up, furry end bottom’ and all the bulbs got planted in their spots, along with a bit of dried chicken manure (just to try and put off the squirrels). He was very excited to hear that these little bulbs would be pretty purple and yellow flowers in the spring.

After raking the leaves back in place (again to dissuade the squirrels from being too inquisitive), we will have to wait until the spring to see the results.

It’s not all about the youngsters

Gardening is for everyone, and I’m also so impressed with some of the work that our Peterborough Master Gardeners do in our community, particularly with seniors.

For many years, several of my colleagues have been volunteering at a local retirement home, assisting elderly residents with raised garden beds, and sensory therapy. Their work really touches me deeply as moving into a senior’s residence and leaving your home (and garden) doesn’t mean that your love of gardening is any less (or that you can’t take up a new hobby if you haven’t gardened before).

Studies have proven that horticultural therapy significantly improves senior’s mental and physical well-being by reducing depression and anxiety, enhancing cognitive function, boosting self-esteem, promoting social interaction, providing gentle physical activity, and offering a sense of purpose through gardening activities.

So, no matter what your age, if you love to garden, try and find a way to share that with both the younger and older generations. Gardening is for everyone.