What is Little Goose Garden?
It's the beginning of my dream.
Where it started
I could take it back as far as my childhood, but let's be realistic. While I grew up with people who loved the garden as much as I do, I didn't associate gardening as a passion worth pursuing until well into my adult years. Before I was about 23, gardening was just a part of life. I didn't take into consideration that, at the time, only about 25% of households actually tend a garden of some sort. (Since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, those numbers have skyrocketed.)
Basically, I didn't recognize that having the skill of growing something from virtually nothing wasn't very common anymore. I also came to associate gardening with stress and anxiety relief. At that point in my life, my anxiety and depression was just formally diagnosed and finally returning to manageable levels. I don't think it a coincidence that it happened when I was developing a garden for my parent's new home. I felt better having something to tend.
I could go down a whole rabbit hole on the science behind nature and your brain, but that's for another time. What I learned is that there was a correlation. I began researching the garden and using it for therapeutic purposes. I found a whole tribe of people that already practiced it. I enrolled in a certificate program that felt like it was designed for me. The Horticultural Therapy Institute out of Denver, CO, provides a program specifically for learning how the garden is used as a therapeutic modality. Seriously, these ladies(and Jay) are the best. The program changed how I view the garden. It's not just for me, but my tool to reach people and make a difference in their lives, too.
Fast forward two years, to the moment I got that certificate in the mail. I felt so accomplished and hopeful. I was ready to use it. I had just moved to Missouri to be with my guy. I knew no one. I was working in corporate retail technology. But I knew I'd find a place.
As it turns out, I have what some call an "authority problem."
I'm kidding, but not entirely.
See, I wanted to do things my way. I had this grand vision of how I wanted my horticultural therapy career to look and none of the existing programs in my area were doing it that way. Also, despite applying, I didn't have any professional experience in the industry. It's the same plight so many people go through: how do I get experience without experience?
Recently, I did find a job working in a florist greenhouse. It was so wonderful to learn about the green industry through a different lens. However, it wasn't quite where I wanted to be. I think my patience is depleting as I approach 30. I can't sit back and wait for my dream to fall in my lap. It never will. As Britney said, "You gotta work, bitch."
The Beginning of Little Goose Garden
For my birthday in June, I took a leap of faith and established my LLC. I told myself that if the program I wanted to work with wasn't out there, I had to create it. Simple.
Not easy, but simple. I'm in the first stages of building this business from the ground up. The way I see it, I need an established production before I can adequately build a program for HT. It gives me the chance to connect with my community and get my name out there.
I grow herbs and edibles in the greenhouse in my backyard while promoting a pollinator friendly garden around it. Little Goose Garden starts here, growing plants the way I believe they should be grown. Clean, natural, organic, you choose the word. The dream is horticultural therapy programming on acres of farmland open to any and everyone. I want to combine my passions of growing plants and genuine connections with people. This is the beginning.
Keep your eyes out for future posts about building the greenhouse and starting seeds.
Thank you for being here with me.