Garden Route Therapy

When the ground is covered in snow, I find the best way to beat the winter blues it to deepen my learning by studying gardening.  This Saturday I for fortunate to attend the Technical Update put on by the Toronto Master Gardeners.  I believe it was the largest gathering of gardeners I have ever been a part of and I felt energized by the experience.  The day covered the important theme of The Global Gardener:  Gardening in a Changing Climate.  I hope to be able to join a Master Gardener group this year.

Today I am starting my first course, Cultural Practices for Plants, towards the Horticulturalist Certificate offered by the University of Guelph through the Office of Open Learning. Despite having a blog and being generally comfortable with technology, this is my first on-line course and I was surprisingly nervous the first time I accessed the class website.  Unlike going to a class, where the teacher distributes the syllabus and walks you through the procedure, this is a lot more self directed as you discover the different components carefully organized on the site.

To balance my computer learning with more direct human contact, I am following a discussion group offered by Jane Hayes of Garden Jane.  Tomorrow will be our second in-person meeting to discuss our assigned book the One-Straw Revolution by Masanobu Fukuoka, a Japanese farmer who developed a “natural farming” method.  I always find it a shame to read a great book and not be able to discuss the ideas with others who have similar interests.  I am therefor very much looking forward to the discussion tomorrow.  The Fukuoka Farming Website is also a great resource.

I wonder how my horticulture course will address alternative methods of growing and environmental practices?  Will I be able to put the different aspects of my learning and experience into conversation with each other or will contradicting lessons challenge me to draw my own conclusions?