THINGS I HAVE LEARNED ABOUT MYSELF AS A MASTER GARDENER Mary Jane Bosworth

Before we moved to North Carolina, I never knew there was such a thing as a Master Gardener. One day, as I was taking a break from helping my husband put siding on our new house, a neighbor drove over, all dressed up and with make-up on and I asked where she was going? She said she was going to a Master Gardener Meeting and after explaining what it was, asked if I would like to join? This was just after a worker with a backhoe offered to dig holes for the bushes I was trying to plant in solid, hard packed clay. Could I learn anything from going to a few meetings? I might. Also, I immediately thought how going to meetings would get me out of some construction duties and off ladders, so I said yes. The rest is history, some good, some bad, and some downright ugly. I did learn things. Most importantly, the soil in the South is different from that in Western New York. When you plant bushes in clay soil you don't include peat moss since it holds water and causes bushes to drown. As my gardening progressed over the years, through experience, I also learned other things. Don't believe everything you read on the label included by the company selling the plant. For example, if the label says the plant will grow to be 5' tall, it will most likely end up being 7'. Did you know that most bushes in NC grow to be the widest bushes in the world? Even becoming a Master Gardener did not prevent me from making these mistakes. See, I've always bought plants by price first and attributes second. I was made that way. It is not always a good thing when you are a gardener. I am now suffering from my previous picadillos. I have tall bushes where I should have short bushes. I could prune 24/7. Plants are spreading where I don't want them to and those I wish would spread, don't seem to know how. Over the years I have expanded gardens to completely surround the house. When my husband suggested I plant flowers on the side of the house so he wouldn't have to cut the sloping lawn, of course I obliged (now he complains about not being able to get to the house to power wash it because of the plants, but that is another story). Finally, I realized that something had to be done. The garden could take over my life. The only thing to do was to take drastic action. I made a plan and realized it would take a few years to complete. Along came Covid and gave me more time to execute my plan. I took stock of what I really liked about gardening, like: getting things organized in the spring, not working in the hot summer days, enjoying a few veggies from my garden, getting exercise in cool weather. On my “I hate to do list” were things like: having to prune too many bushes that were too big for me and required a ladder, constant weeding, bugs, deer, rabbits, squirrels, generally all creatures viciously attacking MY plants. Stage 1 included removing all things no longer wanted. Like puppies, the plants were cute when they were little but now they were like 300 pound dogs. Ten Burford Hollies were cut and killed. I was merciless. Nandina, spreading beyond belief, cut to the quick and sprayed to death (I hope). Pampas grass gone (with the help of heavy equipment). I did not have a clean slate to work on but I had eliminated a lot of tedious work. I must admit, I will miss the berries. Stage 2 required reformatting the gardens. Raised beds were constructed (thanks Bill) to organize and limit my veggie planting. Also with raised beds the crops could more easily be protected from deer with poles placed on the corners and a net covering. To access these raised beds, I made a WIDE path (eliminating more garden). One garden in the center of the lawn was completely eliminated and grass planted, making grass cutting easier. Stage 3 will happen this spring. If everything dies that is supposed to, I will be able to plant some nice, friendly plants. I do not want anything tall as I keep getting shorter. Nothing over 3 feet. Nothing prickly. I do not like pain. Nothing that will spread like crazy. I like plants that know their place. In conjunction with this, if anyone offers to share something from their garden I will be wary, as it MUST be spreading like crazy in their own garden. If I can't find enough plants to fill my garden, I will resort to garden décor; gnomes, statues, whirlygigs, pink flamingos. You get the idea. After almost 20 years as a Master Gardener, I still don't know if I am a Master but I do love the gardening, only now on my own terms. It only took me 20 years to figure this out but I learned a lot and had fun along the way.