Have you noticed that when you are speaking with a gardener, you always learn something that you didn’t know yesterday, a fun fact, a snippet, a pearl of wisdom?
I know I do. I think this is because gardeners are always spending time in nature and observing the things around them. There is always a surprise, something that they did not know which prompts a desire to find out more, they’re interested to find out what is happening in their garden as well as other gardens wherever they go.
As a gardener, the desire is strong to connect with your community to find out if someone else is experiencing the same thing or to commence some research, call a radio station, “Google it”, click on the iNaturalist app, listen to a talk, join a gardening group or even open a good gardening book.
I have never met a gardener who was not willing to share. By their very nature they want to give you something, either a slip cutting of a treasured plant, something you admire when visiting or a piece of valuable knowledge. By the sharing of knowledge and asking questions, being interested in what’s happening is the thing that keeps those brain cogs going. There is no-one who knows everything about their garden, knowledge is not a finite thing.
Being a gardener is being a life long learner. Just yesterday, I was interviewing some gardeners for the paper and learned so many interesting things that I can now share with others. Being open to the knowledge that you can glean from folks who have grown things that you didn’t know you could where you live, is a gift that only being curious can offer.
Curiosity to find out more about other peoples gardens and gather some local intel and find out how they have dealt with successes and failures makes you a better gardener.
Here are five things I have learned by being garden curious this week
- Alternative tips for treating Chilli Thrip-so far this year my roses are OK but will keep the tips in my back pocket just in case
- All of the different times of the year people suggest is best to prune roses in Perth ,for more blooms-August seems to be the consensus
- Not to persist for too long with plants that are not thriving where you originally planted them-life is too short. Try them somewhere else, gift them or just rip ’em out and compost them!
- Names of plants and a froggie in my garden that I did not know, asked another gardener, used Google and iNaturalist app for that
- That Hibiscus Tileaceus rubra is in fact an Australian native plant from Queensland-still not a fan!
Are you garden curious? What do you know this week that you did not know last week?
According to iNaturalist this guy is a slender tree frog
