Against all rumors to the contrary, I was not blessed at birth with a trowel in one hand and a pair of clippers in the other. I have however been avidly gardening for many years. Over the last ten of those years, I have applied my energies and sense of humor to my family’s 100-year-old home and garden in Western Maryland, and consequently have been provided with a lifetime’s worth of writing material – and a very strong back.
I, and many others like me, have felt called to this great green obsession, aware that the sum of our ignorance stands greater than our collective knowledge base. Yet Mother Nature is not a snob. She is not conscious of age, race, creed, social position, or sex (unless it’s behind the shrubbery). She is forgiving. There is always next year, next season in the garden – and many of us count on this fact year after year.
As the mother of two children, learning to balance this obsession with the demands of home and family is exceptionally challenging; and therefore makes up a great deal of my writing. Much of the horticultural advice out there can be daunting and it’s nice to know how a fellow gardener is applying practical advice which is sometimes less than practical – this is precisely how The Small Town Gardener® evolved.
When I am not up to my elbows in compost, you can find me writing, reading, working on yet another home renovation project, or trying to come up with a new way to prepare kale that doesn’t involve garlic.
–Marianne Willburn
