Kahili Ginger from Camera Guy’s garden. It smells even better than it looks! A long ago gift from a friend.
Our home garden has never looked better thanks to A Growing Passion and all the tools it’s added to our gardening kit.
Both Camera Guy and I have always known that gardening, while often a solo pursuit, is best practiced in the company of knowledgeable friends. We’ve known Nan Sterman for ten years now, and from her we’ve picked up ideas that have helped us express our vision. Nan showed us that gardens can be a series of rooms, each with its own purpose and plant palate. We now have four rooms in our garden, one dedicated to the personality and taste of each of our three children, and one for me (all of which are designed and tended by Camera Guy). In these rooms are plants that Nan introduced us to; kangaroo paw, leucadendrons, tilandsias and some rare aloes, which have always been one of Camera Guy’s favorites. Nan’s responsible for the mango tree that’s growing in our back yard, and our very productive passion fruit vine. This year, traveling with her for the garden show, we discovered stunning wax flowers, native plants, a new, black leucadendron, Mighty ‘Matos, and artichokes. They’ve been added to our already eclectic mix.
Perhaps the most important education has been about soil. Camera Guy has been a fan of AgriService soils and composts for years. But now that we’ve met owner Mary Matava and learned about her commitment and her quality products, he’s become a regular, bringing it home by the bucket load. Our tomatoes look the best they have in years thanks to the mushroom compost from Mountain Meadow Mushrooms in Escondido. And the organic fertilizer that Nan prescribed for our fruit trees are doing their stuff. The pineapple guava, the citron, the lemon, lime, and passion fruit are all loaded with fruit.
Bonsai Master Phil Tacktill readies one of his specimens for the camera. His lifelong curiosity has made him and wealth of knowledge, and his generosity of spirit an inspiration for others to try gardening.
We also picked up some great advice from other growers and farmers we’ve met along the way. Paul Maschka, who we met at James Hubbell’s garden, reminded us that a farmer needs to see his shadow, which means he needs to be in tune with the soil, touching, feeling, smelling, and looking at things up close, every day. From Phil Tacktill, we learned how a city boy became a bonsai master from picking up a book and trying something new. His willingness to experiment and his lifelong pursuit of learning left a deep impression. And then there’s Sarah Brightwood and Enrique Ceballos, the architects and master growers of the incomparable landscapes surrounding the Rancho La Puerta Resort and Spa. Their pursuit of the experiential garden, celebrating mystery and discovery, creating spaces that encourage pause and reflection, and a landscape that invites nature in, this is what keeps gardens and life interesting.
Just yesterday we were visiting long-time friends who have a passion for orchids and bonsai. Their garden and greenhouse was so lovely, and such a wonderful expression of their personality and interests. That’s the gift of a garden, self-expression, experimentation, connection to nature, and most of all, the wonderful friends who share their knowledge with us along the way. – Marianne Gerdes
