Where my love of gardening started......

Once upon a time, there was a little girl who lived on a farm in the country. She had very few friends and an older brother who didn't really like her, so she had a lot of time on her hands.......

When you are this age, it seems like an eternity between special events such as birthdays and Christmas. As this was also before internet, cell phones and for the most part, decent children's television, then one had to make their own fun.

My beautiful Mum was an avid gardener, as was her mother (although Baba Yerka's was more for food production). Mum's love was flowers. Although she was a New Zealand born Croation, her love of English gardens was evident. My childhood memories are filled with intermittent 'town' days to buy supplies but also to visit bookshops and garden centres - yawn! Oh, how boring these were to a young child (and guess what my favourite places to visit are now......!).

If Mum wasn't busy working (as a teacher in local schools), cooking and washing (with our old agitator machine that would regularly jam and cause injury to her right boob!), she would be in her beloved garden. 

One day, I must have been particularly bored so I asked if I could have a little garden of my own. As I am now a mother myself, I feel she would have been ecstatic that her daughter showed even the slightest interest in her sanity-saving hobby.

So, I was given a little patch of dirt that sat in front of our lounge verandah. It sounds fancier than it was. It was on the south side of the house (which is not ideal growing conditions in NZ for most flowering plants) and had minimal sun and was right next to a massive evergreen magnolia. Fortunately, the 9-year-old me was blissfully unaware of the unfavourable conditions and I started my first garden undaunted. 

I grew pansies and violas mostly (that must have been transplanted from Mum's garden) and they were beautiful.

So that was really the start of my love of gardening. I have many more snippets of memories that I'll save for another post.

But for today, I want to thank my wonderful Mum. For allowing me to start, for encouraging me along the way and now, I'm sure, for watching over me as I still try to make you proud of my garden.

I love you Mum xx