Published April 21, 2004

Gardening in Green Bay - White Bay

Webster’s New World Dictionary defines a green thumb as “a knack for growing plants” while a greenhorn is “an inexperienced person.” While I really want to fit in the first category, I humbly admit that I belong in the later. I am not, however, content to stay there.

Every summer I watch these beautiful gardens bloom all throughout my community and I turn green with envy, but my thumb stays black. It frustrates me to no end. I search the library and the internet for books, magazines and web sites about gardening, but they are no help what so ever because they present gardening in the ideal place with ideal weather and ideal soil. I don’t want to move! I want to learn how to garden here on the rock in the wind and the cold. Its possible. I see the evidence all around me, but I can’t find any information to help me learn how to do it.

I’m a person that needs to know how to do something before I do it. I read all directions that come with everything. That doesn’t help you with gardening in Newfoundland. If you follow the directions you are planting things in the snow. It doesn’t work. I know from first hand experience. I’ve decided that the only way to learn how to garden here is to talk to successful gardeners in your area.

That’s the purpose of this column - to bring together green thumbs and greenhorns so that we greenhorns can learn from the real experts, not the so called experts that know nothing about gardening in our area.

If you are a successful gardener living in the Green Bay/White Bay area look out, I’m coming after you. If you would be willing to share with us about your garden please email me at greenhorngardener@yahoo.ca.

If you are a fellow greenhorn and have topics or questions you’d like addressed, I can assure you I know nothing about it, but I’ll do my best to find out what you want to know. Or if you know of a garden that you admire and want to know all their gardening secrets, tell me where it is and I’ll see what I can do.

Green thumbs and Greenhorns unite!