I am here to explore with you a way of gardening that is truly accessible to everyone— container gardening. While this is not a new concept, this blog will document a new, meaningful, purpose driven approach.

This summer has been a tremendous challenge to Houston gardeners- extreme extended heat and drought has made many of us question our commitment to our flower and vegetable gardens. We don’t pursue this hobby because we need to, but because we want to! When the weather doesn’t cooperate, we can lose patience and lose interest. Like many of you, I notice that my strength and endurance are flagging, especially in the heat and with age. It saddens me to see my garden suffering and I want to find a way to adapt to all of the challenges I am facing.

I am inspired to find a new path through the garden, not only for myself but for my mother, who used to be an avid gardener, but who can no longer pursue this rewarding hobby with the same level of effort that digging and planting one’s own garden requires. She misses the creative expression and the sense of accomplishment that gardening can provide.

Gardening is too often seen as a hobby for those with money and property—people with space to fill and money to spend on flat after flat of transplants and landscapers with shovels and trailers full of mulch. In the face of environmental, physical and financial challenges, I want to continue to experience the true rewards of gardening- the beauty and the abundance, the human creativity and artistry in collaboration with nature, and the opportunity for growing new friendships and community. I see a sincere focus on container gardening not as a consolation prize for those with “less” but as a true path for the future and benefitting all.

Gardening in Houston, Zone 9a/9b on the Texas Gulf Coast, can be brutal— the heat, the humidity, the drought, the floods, the unpredictable sustained freezes and lets not forget the insects— all can wipe out physical and financial effort. But gardeners are defined by their optimism. Something else will grow in that empty pot. I am no expert and this is endeavor will be fraught with error and failure, I have no doubt. But the fruits and flowers will be even sweeter. I hope you will join me in this project, creating a community as we explore new ways to bring gardening to those with physical, financial and environmental challenges.v