Garden Magic
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A nursery can be just a place to grow plants or it can be an opportunity to inspire others to try something new and imagine 'what if'?. We have always hoped that our nursery would be an inspiration to people of all ages and backgrounds.

Our society's increasing lack of connectedness to the natural world only enhances the magic of plant propagation. Forget marketing for a moment and think about the satisfaction a person feels when they view their own gardening triumphs. A glimpse into a nursery can often infect people with the desire to grow something. Our craft is old but the dedication to it and the passion to share its mysteries are what many people crave to learn.

Once the door of possibilities is opened, many are surprised to find that the world of plants can lead to so many other related and rewarding activities. This has been the motivation for us to follow paths which at first seemed irrelevant to plane production. However, in the end the nursery is enriched by the time and effort expended; visitors are struck by the notion that a nursery can be much more than a nursery.

This year we were introduced to a craft as old as ours - dry stone wall building. John Shaw-Rimmington is nearly a neighbour, living a short distance from us in Port Hope, Ontario. His career for over twenty years was masonry construction but curiosity and interest in dry stone building motivated him to form the Dry Stone Wall Association Of Canada. Dry stone building is centuries old but knowledge of the techniques is spread amongst a small handful of people. John set out to learn from them and in turn teach others. His passion is infectious and his craft is so well-suited to the magic that is gardening.

As the saying goes, we got along famously. We provided the greenhouse and John held weekend classes throughout the winter. Wall building in a greenhouse full of plants was an unexpected but pleasant backdrop for those in attendance. To our surprise, several young people were interested in attending, bringing us back full circle to where we started- a nursery can be much more than just a nursery.

This article appeared in Ground Covers Unlimited 2006 Brochure

Submitted by Ted Spearing