Our Featured Grower this week is Dawn (@dawns_gardening). In this blog post, Dawn spoke to us about how she started growing, what she loves to grow, and what she enjoys the most about gardening. She emphasised the need for gardeners and growers to get to know their garden, and also shared with us how gardening and growing has benefited her in different ways. Read on to find out more about Dawn’s gardening journey.
Dawn’s gardening journey began at a young age. Recalling those early days, Dawn says, “my Dad was a great gardener and my inspiration. My first growing experience was sowing a packet of radish seed.” From there on, Dawn has come to enjoy the wider benefits of gardening. Dawn loves to grow a wide range of plants from trees to flowers which all contribute to the overall look of the garden. “This year I’m growing from seed lots of annual flowers and my greatest passion tomatoes, 15 different varieties,” she adds.
Dawn also spoke to us about her process of working with plants, “It is important to get to know your garden. Determine the aspect, is it north or south facing, is it shaded or sunny, is it prone to frost? When buying new plants study their particular requirements, that is, a shade loving plant will not thrive in full sun. What is your soil type, clay or sandy? With the current trend of hot dry summers, drought resistant plants are invaluable. Never forget Beth Chatto’s mantra of ‘’right plant, right place.’”
Adding that being environmentally-friendly is key, Dawn went on to share with us some of the sustainable gardening practices she adopts. Among them, she says, “I do not use pesticides.” This is a key advantage when growing your own food, giving you the chance to consume food that is healthy and safe. She went on to highlight other aspects such as gardening for wildlife, conserving water, and reusing, “I like to create a natural wildlife friendly environment and let nature do the work. I collect rainwater too for watering, every available drain pipe has a water butt and I make plant food using comfrey and stinging nettles.” Dawn also uses CoirCoins for seed growing at the moment, which, she says, “are germinating nicely,” adding, “I like the fact that coir is a natural, peat-free product and eco-friendly.”
There are many aspects about gardening and spending time in nature that Dawn enjoys. Specifically, she explains, “gardening brings so much pleasure and satisfaction and is good for our wellbeing. I love growing from seed and propagating and I enjoy a walk around the garden checking progress, listening to the birds singing with the sun shining and the pollinators going about their business.” On the other hand, the constantly changing weather is something she finds challenging. “I’m in an area prone to frost, and then on the flip side there can be the heat and lack of rain to deal with, like last summer.”
Speaking about who inspires her the most, Dawn credits her dad, “my dad was my gardening hero”. Now, she also finds inspiration on Instagram, “it’s so good to chat with like minded gardeners and to share tips and knowledge.” Dawn also went on to offer a useful suggestion with other gardeners, “try to have some colour in the garden all year. Bear in mind the winter flowering plants can give so much pleasure”.
Gardening has benefited Dawn immensely. “Gardening and being outdoors amongst nature is what I enjoy. Tasting my first home grown tomato of the season is amazing and seeing a plant flowering that you’ve grown and nurtured for the first time is a great feeling. Gardening has the feel-good factor for sure,” she says.
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