"Learn by Doing!"

“Learn by doing.”  How many times, growing up, did Mom or Dad offer that sage advice?  Maybe it was the time Dad taught you how to mow the lawn in the summer.  Ditto for raking the leaves in the fall and shoveling snow in the winter.  Generally, these brainless activities had a very short learning curve; you did it a few times and you were an expert.   You got to be outside and actually enjoyed your time out there.  You thought that, when you got older and had a place of your own, you’d learn how to garden. 

Fast-forward thirty years.  You graduated high school, went to college, went to graduate school and began a family.   Life flew by, and that gardening bug has been nagging at you, getting louder as each year flew by.  So you started small; some containers and flowers to spruce up the front of the house.  They did pretty well, but nothing really knocked the socks off you.  You began thinking about starting an herb garden one year.  After all, herbs are deer-resistant, smell great and can be used in cooking.  By summers end you amazed your friends and family with your homemade pesto sauce.  You brought lavender inside to perfume your closet.  You made a mean Mojito with your mint.  Note to self: next year, grow mint in a pot, not in the ground.  The mint grows EVERYWHERE!  After your success with your herb garden, you had the bug big time.  You just had to learn more about gardening.

You have no idea where to start.  Mom and Dad moved to Florida and have no desire to garden anymore.  They claim they have forgotten everything they knew about gardening anyway.  Dear departed Aunt Louise was an accomplished gardener (and your favorite aunt) and now it’s too late to ask her. 

Go ahead- kick yourself for not picking her brain.  Maybe your next-door neighbor, Miss Millie, would be willing to help you.  She never married, retired a few years ago and spends oodles of time outside.  Perhaps she would take you under her wing in return for you helping spread the mulch that was just delivered.  

But there are infinite ways to “learn by doing.”  Try volunteering in a public garden by your home, or join a garden club.  Many garden clubs maintain and create gardens in public places.  The Town & Country Garden Club tends the gardens around the cabins in .  Mason Ridge Garden Club maintains and plants the gardens around .  Volunteers tend to the gardens at , Museum of Transportation and Faust Park as well.  Call your local City Hall or St. Louis County Parks department and I’m sure they can put you in touch with the project lead. 

Additionally, many of the schools our children attend have a “grounds beautification” group of volunteers.

Finally, how about calling some of your neighbors, asking for recruits to plant a small garden in the cul-de-sac or spruce up the plantings at your subdivision entrance?  This will get you in touch with neighbors you might not see very often and beautify the place where you live as well.  Perhaps you will make a new friend while enhancing the neighborhood. 

As you can see, the possibilities for learning are just endless.  By taking baby steps and asking for help from others, every garden experience adds to your knowledge.  The guidance that Miss Millie, your neighbors and other like-minded volunteers give you is worth every dirty and chipped nail, touch of poison ivy and sunburned nose.  It’s truly priceless.  And one day, you’ll be able to pass your knowledge on as well!