Gardening as a lifestyle, Finding Perennials, and What Comes Next?
It has been a blur of planting, fertilizing, and watering over the past two weeks. Spring has such an energy that I have a hard time describing. I feel like there are so many things that I want to accomplish during this time before the heat of summer sets in. I have perennials that are being divided and moved, planting shrubs and trees, and we continue to add in hardscaping and sod so that the landscape feels a little more polished after all of the dirt work and trees we had removed in late winter. As things evolve, I see opportunities for things that we might want to add in the future, and I continue to learn every day.
I have had an interest in gardening for as long as I can remember, however I don't think that I was able to fully master plant selection and care until I discovered Carol Klein from BBC. She is often featured on episodes of Gardeners' World and I much prefer her gardening and teaching style over the host, Monty Don. Carol really places an emphasis on propagation, and when you can master this skill then budget becomes less of a concern and creating a beautiful garden really feels achievable.
If you are working on learning then I encourage you to seek out resources from the UK, as gardening really permeates their culture, much more than in the United States. It seems to me that there are some stereotypes related to gardening here in the U.S., where gardening seems to be primarily dividing into chaotic homesteading, landscaping, or commercial agriculture. I guess this is why I have a great interest in the gardening culture in the UK, where it seems to be much more incorporated into lifestyles, knowledge is shared through generations, and you can garden for food and beauty without seeming eccentric. I have also noticed that it can be difficult to find many perennials, trees, and shrubs that I have found through my learning over the years. They are seemingly not interesting to many commercial growers, as they choose to market new, money making varieties of plants, but these new plants often times are not quite as spectacular as they are advertised to be.
I have noticed a very slight shift in the last several years though, as I see a little bit of improvement in perennial availability, and I have found a few nurseries that seem to have a passion for plants and an understanding of that balance between function and beauty. If you are looking for perennial flowers or roses then I can highly recommend a few sites that I have ordered from including:
as well as some pickup only nurseries on the east coast that usually carry a large number of perennials like The Barn Nursery in Chattanooga, TN and Porter Garden Center in Muscle Shoals, AL. I also ordered fruit trees by mail from Cummins Nursery which has a remarkable selection of rare and heritage fruit trees, with tons of information on the root stocks that they use, as well as planting instructions and they even do classes if you live close enough. I ordered four trees and I have been extremely impressed with the vigor of these plants who have grown leaps and bounds in a very short time.
I look forward to posting the next vlog on my youtube channel @hayleesledge , however I took a week off to really make some plans and also to work on setting up my second channel @treehousetohome which I intend to be much more structured and educational. I do plan on continuing with both channels as I really enjoy the vlog and lifestyle content as well. Honestly I am documenting everything that I already do, so it is not difficult to come up with content, but organizing all of it to be able to share does take some work and time.
Finally, if you are wondering what the storefront is going to be selling then you are not the only one lol! I am working on sourcing a very curated selection of made in USA goods that pertain primarily to home, and you can expect to see art and home decor as well as gardening supplies. I may extend to some types of seeds as well, however I do not intend on selling live plants at this time, since there are some rules and regulations regarding the sale of plants that I have zero interest in learning AT THIS TIME. Things could always change, but it is one step at a time, and honestly I am just trying to enjoy the process as things evolve.
Thanks for reading! - Haylee