Tomato Transplant Caught on Tape–and Life Changing Local Gardens

For the price of one already grown tomato plant you can grow 30 or 40 from seed and share the surplus with your friends. 

Friday night I was getting ready for my annual tomato give away by doing some much-needed transplanting.  Here’s a quick video of the process if you’d like to try this at home. 

Why give away tomato plants?  Because sharing your love of gardening is a powerful thing.  Case in point–the local garden that pretty much changed the way l look out my window–the Joslin garden in Raleigh.  Four lovely wooded acres inside the belt line that could have been sold for a mint–

But as the land  around them developed, William and Mary Joslin built a beautiful garden that matured into something much richer than the big houses that grew up next door.   

From the Joslins I learned how to move into my woods.  I learned how to use paths and shade and think on a larger scale.  My garden rooms became bigger, my paths wider.  I began to go places in my yard and think about views and vistas.   

All this because they shared. 

The Joslins are opening their garden free to the public again this Saturday.  Mapquest  2431 W. Lake Drive in Raleigh and go see what can happen when two people  really love a piece of land. 

And coming up later in April–more of Raleigh’s most inspiring, life changing gardens.  The Triangle Land Conservancy Garden tour is my absolute  favorite–and the reason I own a 500 gallon water barrel.  Here’s some info from the TLC web site or check them out online. http://www.triangleland.org/calendar/2010/2010-0424outing(GardenTour)info.html 

If you only do one tour, do this one.

April 24, 1-5 p.m.

Conservation Gardens Tour

TLC’s field trip to local gardens, hosted jointly by TLC and the Reid (Triangle) Chapter of the NC Native Plant Society, celebrates how gardens and residential properties contribute to the health and beauty of the Triangle’s environment. The gardens on the tour illustrate ways to steward home gardens that enrich our lives with birdsong, flowers, shade, and homegrown food, while enhancing the environmental health of the community. In addition to showcasing the beauty of native wildflowers, these “conservation gardens” provide wildlife habitat and demonstrate environmentally friendly practices such as water conservation, rainwater harvesting, composting, mulching, and alternatives to lawns. This year’s tour will include the Reid Garden, Joslin Garden, Yarger Garden and the Prairie Ridge Nature Neighborhood Garden.