Hi everyone! I am new here and I am in need of a Gardner. Where can I find one? I have an outdoor landscape that has been neglected and needs a bit of a tidying and some tlc. I am a complete novice but I am really motivated to learn. My interest in gardening only came along because of my love of birds and wanting to provide my little friends with more bird friendly greenery. But, the knowledge needed is daunting and I am becoming a little overwhelmed, so I thought maybe I could hire a Gardner to work on my garden, provide ideas/suggestions for design and this way it might be a good way for me to start learning. Your comments are appreciated! Thanks :)
Others on this forum who are in your area might chime in with specific gardeners, but my two cents' worth is this: ask around, look at web portfolios and check references and perhaps sites worked on first. Lots of individuals/companies listed under 'gardening' in various directories are really just landscrapers (I know...I started out as one myself, in the mists of time), guys who work string trimmers, mowers and blowers but know very little about what you're interested in learning. You might inquire at your local garden centre/nursery, and sometimes craigslist has ads from individual gardeners with links to their work. In the meantime, you'll find this forum quite friendly in terms of questions about design, bird plantings, etc. One book I'll recommend off the hop is "Landscaping for Wildlife in the Pacific Northwest" by Russel Link. Lots of good info. on bird planting/design.
Another idea is to join a garden club. Being around like minded people who likely have years of gardening knowledge between them could be a good way to go. Arrange a garden tour of your place with the club and ask questions, get suggestions, maybe one or more would even volunteer to assist you. We gardeners love to share and compare. Plant sales, exchanges. And it shouldn't cost you at all or much to join. Regardless, gardening is an evolving journey, lots of sweat, and plenty of challenges and rewards. What could be better, especially for our little bird friends? Enjoy.
Also, feel free to ask questions in the Gardening for Backyard Biodiversity in Canada forum. We've gathered a decent amount of print resources on the topic here at the Garden in the past couple years, so we have that to draw on.
