“My green thumb only came as a result of the mistakes I made
while learning to see things from a plant’s point of view.”
— H. Fred Dale —
As far back as I can remember, I have had a passion for gardening and basically anything to do with nature. As a child, I loved spending time out in the family vegetable and flower gardens observing how plants grow, how they set their flower buds, and how the fruit would seem to miraculously start to form. I always wondered how a plant knew what it needed to do and when to do it. Even the insects in the garden captured my attention, especially the cool looking tomato hornworms. Chores like tilling and weeding were enjoyable tasks for me. I wanted to soak up all that nature had to teach me.
After high school, it seemed like a natural fit for me to continue my education by taking a 2 year Horticultural Technician course at Niagara College in St. Catharines, ON. Who knew that studying plants would also mean minoring in Latin? Here, the world of plants was opened up for me and my love for gardening really ‘blossomed’ (pun intended). I finally started to learn some of the answers to the many questions I had as a child.
For 30 years I had been employed at Mori Gardens in Niagara-on-the-Lake, ON as a Garden Designer and Consultant. I have been privileged over the years to have completed more than two thousand landscape designs of all sizes, for both commercial and residential properties. I love talking with people about their gardens and helping them to make their dream gardens become a “growing” reality. I spend a lot of time diagnosing diseased plant material and identifying insect problems and advising clients on possible solutions to their problems. I also have had many, many opportunities to teach seminars and lead workshops on various gardening topics which I enjoy doing greatly. I love to see both experienced and novice gardeners get excited about plants and start to see the possibilities that lie undiscovered in their own yards.
In my spare time, you can catch me out in the garden, trying to conquer bind weed – unsuccessfully so far, but there is always next year. I also love to be in the great outdoors, capturing the beauty of nature on my camera. I have volunteered my time over the years creating and maintaining gardens at a local nursing home in St. Catharines, ON as well as helping to set up a community garden in Niagara Falls, ON. I am currently serving my fourth year as President of the Niagara-on-the-Lake Horticultural Society.
It is these 30+ years of garden knowledge and design experience and my love for nature that I look forward to sharing with you and helping you create the garden of your dreams.
Growing together,
Joanne Young
Garden Coach