I’m in Master Gardener School . We were given as assignment to write about anything, as long as it had to do with gardening.

Here is my written report .

These are my people

My favorite humans

My dad was my hero and my best friend. He went to live with Jesus in December of 2017.

Dad gave me the love of searching for items that needed rescued. Dad was the Master renovator of old cars but as he aged and couldn’t do such strenuous and demanding work, he and I became quite the team. We would scour yard sales, thrift stores and score side of the road treasures frequently. Some items would need extensive repairs while others would only need a little sanding and some paint as we gave it a second chance at life.

Since 2017, I’ve done a lot of rescuing on my own. I’ve taught myself, and was mentored by my really cute husband, the skills that Dad used to do for me. While learning new skills, I’ve discovered my love for finding an item that was intentionally meant for one purpose and giving it a new and different life.

Recently, gardening has come to the top of my love list. My best friend Becky and I hunt regularly for our next favorite plant. We talk about what we love and where in our gardens it will go. Do me a favor……find someone who shares your loves, it’s so much fun. Include lunch and make it a day.

I love to be outside. I love watching things thrive in my yard, on my fabulous front porch or especially inside.

My favorite plant is my seven foot fiddle leaf fig. Her name is Felicity.

If a plant is not thriving, it’s fun to figure out why, what it needs, where it should be moved to, even if that means to another persons house. I have a three times and you are out rule at my house. I’ll move you three times and if you still don’t like it here, obviously you want to be moved to someone else’s house.

As I mix my love of finding things that need a second chance at life with my love of gardening, I recently created a tiered basket succulent garden. The tiered basket used to be a fruit basket and when I found it on the side of the road, all it needed was a good cleaning, a little sanding and a fresh coat of paint.

As I gathered the supplies, I could see the final result in my head but making it in person took a little creativity.

Each tier was a different size so when I found the coconut liners, they were all too big. However they were easily cut with scissors. I added a layer of soil to each tier and added succulents. 

I used cuttings from plants I already had but a trip to the nursery is always fun.

If you have succulents in your garden, they are so easy to separate and propagate. As you pull them out of their current pot, sometimes they are already separated or you can just pull off a leaf. Succulents like to dry out before putting in soil so plan ahead.

The coconut liners allow water to flow freely from each tier so make sure you account for drainage when deciding where to put your creation. This one belongs to my friend Diane and it was recently auctioned for my friend Holly who is currently fighting ovarian cancer. It lives on a back porch in partial sun.

I have this garden attached to the side of our shed and it drains directly into the ground.

You are not restricted to succulents for your gardens. This one is attached to the wall in the Pool house and I planted golden pothos. The floor is pavers, so again, water draining isn’t an issue.

I have been able to fill my hurting heart sometimes with my love of junk, sometimes gardening and sometimes both.

Each and every time I think of Dad and smile.

I miss you Pops.