Through the Garden Gate - Peter Macqueen

This garden is the visionary insights of Peter Macqueen and his surrounding environment.  Peter understands the interconnected presence of man and nature, where one has true respect for the integration of the other's needs and accepts them for who and what they are, even if the unseen party in this relationship is nature. 

The interview with Peter is in real time, reality TV for me is seeing the bumps and hick ups of life and in this segment you see me stumble over a few words.  Dyslexia is what makes me, me.

Garden Clippings - Is Your DIY Garden Making You Depressed?

Garden Clippings come about from the pain I have suffered throughout my gardening life and discussions with others. I have suffered from every emotion like anger, frustration and impatience through to joy cause gardens grow in their own time. These articles are not your normal gardening writings they are about the emotional trails and tribulations of gardening. That is why I chose this title 'Garden Clippings' cause you throw them away and in return your lawn looks great.

These articles are about taking the frustrations out of gardening and moving your mind set toward a sense of achievement within your own backyard, by not reducing your garden to low maintenance but increasing or decreasing the garden to your gardening skill sets.

The articles are my opinions and I am open for discussion on them, these posts are about taking the darkness and witnessing the struggle from our hearts and moving toward the green salvation within our hands.

Enjoy

Garden Clippings - Making your garden grow

 

What happens when you have tried everything to make your garden grow and impress your friends and it has failed and you’re left wondering what to do next?
Let’s look at what may have happened to cause this green project to turn brown in the first place. Was the idea an image of the dream garden in a magazine and not within your abilities, but you said, ‘what the heck let’s give it a go anyway’?

Did you over utilize your time in other areas of your life and not give full concentration to the green project at hand? Did you just feel overwhelmed with what to do next? Maybe you did not feel supported by family members and friends to keep going because they did not understand your needs to be green!

Well if that is the case, all that is needed is a little positive self talk, dust off the knees and roll up the sleeves and get right back into the saddle of gardening again.

These disasters happen most often at the start of a young gardening career, where self doubt is prevalent, and you’re trying to lap up information while gaining experience at the same time, which is great, but you may expect some failures at this stage.

This article is not about the technical how’s and why’s of gardening but providing moral support. Here are some tips to emotional success while gardening and if anyone should know it is me a landscape designer, I have had to pick myself a number of times and get back into the saddle of gardening. This is what I have found helpful.

• Look at what your strengths are in the garden, be truthful not wishful, for example you may love pruning instead of weeding or you may love looking at the garden as if it were a picture and not actually enjoy working in it. We focus on our weakness far too often and need no help exploring them. By now you have probably rattled of three or four of them just reading this article.

• Be clear about what type of gardening you actually like and do not just follow trends, if you like to have flowers around to remind you of romance that is OK. Quite often we get stuck in the ‘Jones syndrome’ and I am sure by now the Jones are sick of everyone looking over their shoulders too.

• Educate yourself, acquire books on the type of garden that you actually want, do internet image searches, join a gardening group or develop new friendships with other gardeners in the community, because most gardeners love to share.

• Most importantly research the garden styles that make you most feel at peace, because at the end of the day, gardens are not solely about entertainment, they can be about quietness and reflection as well.

• Most importantly gardens are an area where we communicate with ourselves and others, learn to own your space and do not be afraid to move things on in the garden if they are not doing well.

Remember you are a unique gardener in your style and how you garden, embrace the opportunity to have a go. Gardens are a place for survival for our hearts and natures little friends, cause they need a home to.

So take it upon yourself to find out what makes you as a gardener tick and have another go at making a great contribution to the world of gardening.

Through the Garden Gate

Through the Garden Gate is a new social media gardening program, that highlights leading gardeners in their fields.

Through the Garden Gate came about by my curiosity into how other gardeners garden, I have a big nose and wanted to get the dirt on our new breed of social gardeners.

I wanted to look past current trends and instant garden reality TV and find out exactly what the everyday gardener was doing.

My first interview just happened with Ida and Glen Kendrick, we were just sitting around their table and the next minute, Through the Garden Gate was born.

First time at blogging

Hi everyone,

Well what now, it is interesting to see how a little white box could look and feel so scary, but I will get over that very soon.

I look forward to writing some articles about landscape design, millinery, because every gardener needs a great hat and my trials and tribulations riding a scooter.  I know I can hear you all now, but I really look forward to receiving your comments or otherwise what is the point of doing this.

Riding a motorbike may look like a solo event, but you need to have a fanastic mechanic, good fuel stations with lots of chocolate to calm the nerves and friends to share the moments with.

So I look forward to some great discussions to share with my new friends, hope you enjoy the blog as much as I will.

Donna