“At first people refuse to believe that a strange new thing can be done, then they begin to hope it can be done, then they see it can be done—then it is done and all the world wonders why it was not done centuries ago.”
Frances Hodgson Burnett, Author, The Secret Garden
While many people might tell you their passion started at an early age, when it comes to gardening, I have not always loved the idea of getting dirty and sweating, planting tiny seeds, only to be disappointed when they did not grow or were immediately eaten by pests or trampled upon by dogs and people after sprouting.
In fact, I never liked the smell of dirt.
While my mother was always outside whenever she was home, planning garden themes, digging in the dirt, creating pretty amazing paradisaic oases, I just was not interested in gardening, in doing the actual work. I relished being among the flowers, that is until a bee appeared. I have simply never been the outdoor type.
The beginnings of container gardening
However, when I started living on my own, in apartments, I missed the flowers that often greeted me at the front door of my childhood home. So I would buy hanging plants, window boxes, and other small containers to fill with flowers and recreate that floral beauty to calm me after a trying day at work (and often a super long drive home).
I did not have the yard space to plant massive gardens. I did not have the time to plan, design, plant and take care of a garden even if I did. Nor did I ever have the budget to create what often takes years of trial and error in the growth process to harvest the magnificent havens my mother often had.
Lacking the patience, space, time and budget needed for a storybook cottage garden, I did what I could with what I had. And that brought me a little joy through the summer.
As I got older and eventually had yard space, I found myself drawn more often to the outdoors toward the garden. I planted small bushes, flowers, floral borders, and herbs in my yard, from perennials to annuals. I decorated my porch with window boxes and containers full of vibrant flowers. And over time, all my hard work would either expand, or deteriorate, which reminds me that gardening is always trial and error. I never mapped out a garden “plan” or design; I simply chose plants that looked pretty to me and planted them wherever I saw a space. And then waited.
Healing through gardening
For the last several years, after being heavily involved in the communications field, I suddenly realized sitting behind a desk made me miss out on the sunshine, hear the birds sing, and enjoy creation as we all should. The hum of the corporate world was sounding more as a screech, and I felt worn out. And when COVID-19 hit all of us in 2020 and beyond, I began to reflect on how life was changing and where I would feel comfortable.
Initially, as most people I think, I fell into somewhat of a depression. I allowed my porch to lapse and did not have the energy or the heart to decorate it, or my yard, as I had in years past. And going to the garden centers was out of the question with health fears. While my yard refused to give up on my me, my porch was in a pitiful state.
I consider my porch to be a canvas where floral art should flourish. But at the time, it was blank and empty.
By the fall, when I began to receive seed catalogs, I began to think again of my front porch. I thought of ideas and changes that might be nice to achieve, and then started jotting down those ideas. And the more I started thinking of my gardening goals and reasonable expectations, the more I felt a calm overtake me. After I ordered the seeds and developed a mini greenhouse in my sunroom (as in: one tray with 72 cells), and watched the seedlings begin to grow, the realization that life was beginning anew filled me with incredible joy. At that point, I could not wait to get into the garden.
Gardening, indeed, became a mental and emotional healer for me. It has taught me patience and to deal better with disappointment.
Purple cosmos 
Nasturtium
Gardening made simple
But it also made me realize there are others, like me, who love flowers and gardens and desire that peaceful atmosphere, yet we do not always have the time, energy, space or budget to bring to reality what is in our imagination or what we see in books and catalogs and arboretums. All of this can make even the idea of gardening overwhelming.
Thus, Emma’s Garden Corner was born. It was born out of love for gardens and a passion to support beginner gardening enthusiasts along the way. We do not all have time to research and plan and map out our containers and patios and other small spaces to create something wonderful.
My many years of creating floral beauty in small spaces, with limited resources, on top of a busy schedule prompted me to create Emma’s Garden Corner to offer ideas and pass along knowledge and insights I have gained through continued research and experience.
What to plant?
How to plant?
When to plant?
I research and provide tools to help make your planning and planting simple and within your budget. I thrive on how-to videos, especially ones that take you from beginning to end, so I share those. I love gardening tips and ideas that are aimed at the beginner as opposed to the novice gardener, so I research and write those.
I do not consider myself an expert gardener, but an expert learner, doer, risk-taker, experimenter, and sharer of bumps, falls and successes with others. I make a lot of mistakes through trial and error. I do not have time to spend all day cultivating my garden either, so I aim for plants that are self-sufficient and do not require constant handholding and therapy sessions.
Gardening has taken me on a journey I could not have imagined or planned. I dig in the dirt—with my bare hands!—and take the time to smell the flowers and the fresh soil. I do not run from the honey and bumblebees as I once did, especially since I plant flowers to attract these pollinators (I still dodge the yellow jackets and hornets though!).
Are you ready to take this journey with me? Then join me in the garden; be inspired by your own imagination and wonderful possibilities flowers provide. Share your concerns and questions with me so we can learn together.
Let us create beauty together.
Top image: Meadows and Sage Photography
