Marian Prince - A Garden Built for You

My name is Marian Prince and I have loved gardening for as long as I can remember. Some of it is probably genetics, as my grandfather worked in greenhouses in Burnaby, B.C., from the time he immigrated to Canada from Britain in the early 1900s. When my mother was old enough to work in the greenhouses, it was her favorite place to go as well.

As a child, we always had a backyard garden. I probably wasnt the best help to my mom, but it always gave me a peaceful feeling to be in our garden plot, learning to differentiate the weeds from the garden plants.

At the ripe age of 12, my mom gave me my own garden space. I chose to grow pumpkins, and what a success they were. I was a little disappointed with their shape, as they were the elongated variety, not the round variety as I had hoped for. However, that was the true start to my desire to be involved in horticulture.

As an adult, my very first home-gardening attempt was a complete flop and deflated me for some time. I was living on Lasqueti Island, a tiny island in the Gulf of Georgia, at the time. I had carefully chosen the garden site, making sure it was near the house and near a good water source. It also had excellent sun exposure, so I got down to digging, raking, and preparing the soil. I had my seeds in hand and started the planting process. I was using the in-ground row-planting method and had my markers at each end of the rows, you know, with the seed packages turned upside down on the wooden stakes. I had hills nicely mounded for the squash and pumpkins, with three seeds in each hill as per the planting instructions. My seed potatoes were nicely hilled and everything looked perfect. A lot of work and it was planted. I just had to sit back and watch it grow, or so I thought. The day after all of my excitement and hard work, I got up to have a look at my beautiful garden plot only to see that it had been completely destroyed. The free-range cows had decided to pay me a visit overnight and trampled the whole thing until nothing was left. What a bitter disappointment that was. Next time round, I would have fencing around the garden plot and no free-range cows anywhere near!

My next garden was very successful. I was now living in Sechelt on the Sunshine Coast and had a large garden plot area on 1/3 of an acre. It was close to the backdoor in a sunny spot, and the water source was right handy to the entire area. I went to local sawmills to pick up the ends and seconds of rough-cut boards in order to build a fence around my garden. There werent any free-range cows in the area, but I now had four children, a couple of dogs, and was horse sitting Rosy for my brother-in-law. No chances taken; my garden needed protection! I used Rosies manure (composted of course) and had the most awesome peas and cucumbers ever. During this time, I discovered square-foot gardening. This changed my whole outlook on gardening and I adopted this method wholeheartedly. I dont recall how I ended up with the book, SQUARE FOOT GARDENING, written by Mel Bartholomew, but it was a complete game changer for me. I highly recommend the book for any and all gardeners alike.

Years later, I moved to the Okanagan Valley in South Central British Columbia and received the Practical Horticulture Certification at Caribou College in Kamloops, B.C. (now Thompson Rivers University). I have worked in the forestry industry doing silviculture surveys and timber cruising. I have had a career as a landscape designer, landscape estimator, nursery worker, and landscaper for over 15 years. And I never gave up my love of being an active home gardener and food preserver, giving me over 45 years experience in this field.

I am writing this book now to share some of my successes and failures with gardening enthusiasts everywhere. Whether you are new to gardening, a beginner gardener, or a seasoned gardener, you will find some little tidbits of helpful information throughout these pages.