My Brother’s (Gardening) Story
Ferg’s Sydney courtyard that was once just dirt and ferns
Throughout my life I have joked that my younger brother Fergus is always riding on my coattails because he has a pattern of watching me do something new and then jumping on board once I figure it out! Yes, he is smarter than me :/ It has happened multiple times over the last 3 decades and of course, it has happened with gardening.
I didn’t get good at gardening overnight and Ferg watched me struggle through the learning process for years with little interest and then once I seemed to have mastered it all, he paid attention. Also, COVID happened and he had extra time at home so decided to get involved by growing his first ever garden.
You can read about how long it took me to understand how to grow veggies and flowers here (in short,10 years of trial and error). Fergus? He’s been gardening for 2 years and is already close to my level after a decade. Argh!!!! But he is also a great example of how useful it is to learn something new from someone who already knows the steps.
The major turning point for me going from newbie to my green thumb era was realising that gardening only requires about 5 key steps done in order. My brother had a fast learning trajectory because he copied my 5 steps (via a few phone calls to me in Brisbane, he lives in Sydney) and stuck with it: see his amazing green Bells of Ireland, orange marigold, yellow sunflowers and red dahlias below.
In honour of the best student around, I’ve included a free Sydney Planting Calendar above for anyone else growing in Sydney. Ferg recently grew another round of beautiful Tom’s Dahlias and is currently growing a huge autumn veggie patch with spinach, carrots and lots of herbs. He doesn't even need my help anymore! :(
Ferg displaying his flower growing and organisational prowess (above)!
Digging up dahlia tubers to save for next year = very advanced!
The beautiful Tom’s Dahlias that Ferg grows each September in his courtyard
Looking for more information? Check out my take on 4 Inspiring Veggie Gardens In Australia or Success Story: Fergie’s Bells.