Tad and Sherry
Our gardening adventures began one sunny September morning in 1976. We had just purchased a circa 1732 cape in the middle of 4 acres of land. Oh, the dreams we had…
Tad imagined growing all sorts of things, common and exotic. His gardening experience was limited. As a child, he visited nurseries with his mother as she looked for tomato plants. Later he would take seeds from the fruits he ate to plant in his roommate’s house plants. Tad owned one plant – an ancient rubber tree rescued from his grandmother. Now the growing possibilities were limited only by his imagination. Remember, he IS a madman.
Sherry was a bit more realistic. She was raised on a 7 acre farm that produced food for the winter. In her imagination, she would surround this little house with flower and herb gardens. She and Tad would plant neat rows of vegetables. Winters would be spent eating the bounty of the garden.
Early Beginnings
First we connected to the sewer (town’s idea, not ours) – suddenly we had a nice slope on the south side of the house. As the snow flew, we sat by the fire and planned the first garden. Between us, we ordered every seed catalog known to gardeners. We read them all cover to cover and delighted in the descriptions. Prolific bloomer, it produces a continuous display of huge flowers…Sweetest, crispest and juiciest onion…Brilliant sapphire blue fragrant flowers…Meaty, deep red, full-flavored fruits. We were in heaven.
Unfortunately, we didn’t know a weed from a plant; we didn’t know the difference between a sun loving plant and a shade lover – in fact, we didn’t know anything. Our first garden was a DISASTER! Then we started asking the question, “What if?” Forty-one years later we are both Advanced Master Gardeners who continue to explore and create gardens – perhaps all our mistakes can help answer some of your What if’s. Welcome.