ENTRY #2 - GARDENING
It started with a water garden. When gardening, why not dream big? So when my husband and children went away to visit grandparents for a few weeks, I dug and hauled rocks and liner and plants, and created a small water ecosystem complete with fish and frogs and water lilies that is still going 18 years later:
I enjoyed creating that garden so much that next year I took a spade and dug up another area of the yard. This time I planted a garden of hostas and astilbes under two tall spruce trees.
I didn't stop there. I kept digging and digging, putting in a new garden each summer. I had become a hosta fanatic, and before I came to my senses ten years later, I had planted over 110 hostas of 70+ varieties all around my yard. The gardens were gorgeous - but I had to weed them every year!!
Of course I have more than just hostas. Mainly I have shade plants because I live under large trees. I've planted various ferns, wild geraniums, bleeding hearts... And I have over 400 irises, all of them Siberian irises that look spectacular for one stunning week in early June.
Naturally I photograph my flowers and gardens because my #1 hobby is photography
I'm not an expert gardener and I don't make money at it, but I have learned a lot about gardening over the last 20 years. Perhaps one of the most important things I learned is how to keep deer from eating my 110 hostas so that my gardens continue to look good all summer.
It started with a water garden. When gardening, why not dream big? So when my husband and children went away to visit grandparents for a few weeks, I dug and hauled rocks and liner and plants, and created a small water ecosystem complete with fish and frogs and water lilies that is still going 18 years later:
I enjoyed creating that garden so much that next year I took a spade and dug up another area of the yard. This time I planted a garden of hostas and astilbes under two tall spruce trees.
I didn't stop there. I kept digging and digging, putting in a new garden each summer. I had become a hosta fanatic, and before I came to my senses ten years later, I had planted over 110 hostas of 70+ varieties all around my yard. The gardens were gorgeous - but I had to weed them every year!!
Of course I have more than just hostas. Mainly I have shade plants because I live under large trees. I've planted various ferns, wild geraniums, bleeding hearts... And I have over 400 irises, all of them Siberian irises that look spectacular for one stunning week in early June.
Naturally I photograph my flowers and gardens because my #1 hobby is photography
I'm not an expert gardener and I don't make money at it, but I have learned a lot about gardening over the last 20 years. Perhaps one of the most important things I learned is how to keep deer from eating my 110 hostas so that my gardens continue to look good all summer. 
