Grow Write Guild #28: Greener Grass

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Someday I’d like to have the experience of gardening in another climate. While I certainly haven’t experienced everything this climate has to offer a gardener, I think it would be an exciting challenge to try growing somewhere completely different, where I would have the opportunity to see some of my favourite tender plants come into maturity outdoors and in the ground.

When the winter is long and particularly tough, I fantasize about moving to California or Spain. But when winter is behind us and the growing season starts to kick into gear, I wonder if it is because of the season of deprivation that I enjoy the growing season so heartily. Would I eventually find myself bored or even overwhelmed by a year-round garden? Would I begin to fantasize about the break that the winter offers?

Grow Write Guild Prompt #28: Write about growing a garden in another climate.

This prompt has the potential to go in several different directions. Consider the following questions or go with the first thought that comes to mind.

    Further Questions:

  • If you could grow a garden somewhere else in the world, where would it be? Describe the fantasy.
  • Are you satisfied growing in your current climate? Why? Why not?
  • What sort of garden would you have in a different climate? How would it differ from your current garden? Are there any ways that you can incorporate some of those ideas into your current location?
  • Have you had the opportunity to grow plants or a garden in more than one climate? Compare and contrast these experiences. Do you have a preference?

The Grow Write Guild is a creative writing club for people who love to garden. Everyone is welcome to participate! Click over to the Grow Write Guild FAQ to learn more about it.

Gayla Trail
Gayla is a writer, photographer, and former graphic designer with a background in the Fine Arts, cultural criticism, and ecology. She is the author, photographer, and designer of best-selling books on gardening, cooking, and preserving.

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5 thoughts on “Grow Write Guild #28: Greener Grass

  1. Hi Gayla. I was intrigued by your curiosity about gardening in a warmer climate. For twenty years I tried to garden in the Dallas area with limited success. Basically it is an urbanized, arid grassland suitable only for grazing buffalo, deer, and antelope where everything you plant literally cooks in nightime temperatures of plus-100 degrees Fahrenheit. I have gardened for the last ten years in the more temperate climate of central Illinois and have had great success with a backyard berry and hydroponic tomatoes orchard|garden. Two or three feet of snow for a couple or three months is a blessing… six months or so, maybe not so much: )

  2. I live in North Dakota. Grew up in Southern California. I loved gardening in So Cal but never knew how good I had it. I would love to go back and enjoy it now that I know how hard it is in this climate. My main thing is I have six acres. Its too much. I’am looking forward to moving and gardening in a much smaller, simpler space. Also, colder climates are hard if you cant over winter plants somewhere, so it cost more to replace some items (pond plants for example) I still do a ton of planting and gardening every year but its getting harder as I get older (57) If I could garden anywhere it would be somewhere tropical. Oh the thought…

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