Gardening

Posted byAaronPosted ingardenTags:

I have gardened most of my life – sometimes on balconies of apartments but mostly I’ve been lucky enough to have homes with lawns ready to tear up and make gardens of. It’s led to lots of good things. The first house I owned was organized and supported by a neighbour who had watched me garden in this little urban space and when they found out we were renting they made it possible for us to buy another, bigger house with a larger garden. A developer wanted it to be part of a housing development and we said we’d sell if we could get enough money to move to Gabriola Island – by the time we got there we only had enough cash for a half-acre but then we made a new garden and I started writing about gardening – a monthly article for a magazine that I loved, and a weekly column for the local paper, and assorted other articles that appeared in other places. That led to the purchase of a hobby farm and more project, always on tight budget with big visions, and then I came back to the city and mostly enjoyed my friend’s garden (the product of a gardening family, so always something interesting going on!). Gary and I then bought our current New Westminster house, not least because it is almost a double lot…

After nearly 20 years here our garden is re-emerging and changing. A couple of trees that grew way bigger than I ever expected had to go… more need to be taken out or shaped down to size so I got a little chainsaw for my birthday and will see what I can manage. While I was working on my last degrees I didn’t pay enough attention to what was happening (after we had the very bad idea of “let’s leave this blackberry bush here and see what happens!” – what happened was that it took over the whole yard!). So we’ve spent the last month lopping back brambles, digging out roots, bagging it all up and sending it to the compost works. What’s emerging is very cool – some densely shaded areas – and I am loving spending time there, as is Gary and Zev.

Published by Aaron

After 30 lovely years as Director of Research, Training and Development, Spectrum Society during which I supported self advocacy groups and provided training and workshops to other agencies and groups, I became particularly interested in inclusive research groups and studied towards a MA and then, to my surprise, a PhD. I am the author/illustrator, editor and co-editor of a dozen books and currrently working on the 13th, which is about person centered planning. My passion is supporting networks to share person-centred alternatives in how people with disabilities can be facilitated to live lives where their gifts are necessary components in their communities. I currently do this by teaching at Douglas College where I have worked in the Disability and Community Studies program, as well as in the Indigenous Pathway and I have also taught at JIBC. These days I get to spend more time in my garden, traveling, reading and with my family.

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