What plant, circumstance or moment made you fall in love with gardening ?

Hard to Say ,,, But I remember not that meny years ago I had my house surrounded with red chips and 3 x 3 slabs,s then for some unknown reason I planted a small strip border next to ,my fromt door of Bedding Planys... That was it . I loved it.It grew year on year, month on month, and now there is no red chips and very few slabs. Hooked on flowers... Great.

 

I am a new member to your dicussion group but not to gardening ,my father ran avery large estate for a local mill owner in the west riding.I was brought up with a love of gardens and most animals.Like most young men you make your own way in different occupations but never loose that love of gardening.

 

My dad has always been a keen gardener, in his heyday he had, apart from his main garden behind the house, as many as 4 allotments in different parts around the village. He grew mostly veg but also had fantastic flower displays. But I must say, I never really took to it. My sister was always more into it. She is 2 years younger than me but was into everything much early than myself (cooking, baking, housework - aand gardening). I took off when I met my now husband, am now a quite good cook and love baking - and gardening hit me on my last summer holiday trip to visit my parents and their house is now surreounded by flower beds full of masses of colour and scent, and I had to see that a year after my dad slapped my wrist for the untended piece of land behind our own house. So this spring was it, we decided we had to do something. And it's coming around nicely - managed to grow some fine looking veg species from seed and kept small plants alive (not all of them, but then I am still finding out what works in our soil and what doesn't - the Marguerites look a bit dodgy but getting better, "normal" flowers again after a couple of weeks when they did not develop fully, whereas the Kilmarnock Willow I planted about 10 weeks ago is a right beauty... and all my newly planted summer bulbs are now emerging beautifully too!).
I reckon give me 5 years (and a bit of persuasion to keep weeding) and the garden will look nice enough - though I doubt I will ever reach my dad's level!

 

Yes Dag, Huxley juniors then Latymer Grammar as my brother and parents did before me.
Rosie, left Rochfords in 1971, of course it went down hill from then. :D

 

Sweetpeas in my grandads garden, thats what got me hooked on plants, mind mine never look like his did...lovely straight stems, he used to exhibit them, mine end up with curly stems!! I love sweetpeas so much I had them in my wedding bouquet.

 

our next door neighbour got me hooked on the plant job.about a year after i moved in i decided id better tidy the tiny front garden up.(very neglected)i was battling away at the nettles when he suddenly appeared and said,"here,chop that in half with a spade and it`ll be right for the summer."i had no clue as to what it was.to me it just looked like a few thick blades of grass sticking out of a big lump of soil.i hadnt even thought of planting anything but i didnt want to seem ungrateful,or as thick as i looked, so i did as he said.it turned out to be Crocosmia and ive now got half a dozen from the original.

 

yes, i can remember spending a lot of time in my grandmas garden ,she too loved sweetpeas and had roses all over, she had tame blackbirds called it jenny she used to eat out of her hand, dont know how she did it, i guess a lot of patience.
everyone has brought back a lot of memories
from rosa newest member

 

Although I didnt know it at the time my love of gardens came to me as soon as I was born. I grew up in Sussex and my father had what can only be described as a truly beautiful garden. I only really appreciated it when though circumstances I was forced to live in London. The first plant I bought was a camellia for my balcony and it went rapidly on from there. Soon I was reading everything I could about gardening and spent a lot of time dreaming about my childhood amongst the plants and trees. When I move to the country again, this time I will be ready!