By AMANDA ZAMBRANO
Master Gardener

(EDITOR’S NOTE: Amanda Zambrano is the director of advancement at Grace Village Retirement Community. She is a master gardener intern, just learning the ins and outs of successful gardening.

Along with her master gardener volunteering, Amanda serves on the board of directors for the Wagon Wheel Center for the Arts, the Symphony of the Lakes committee and a Kosciusko County Community Foundation scholarship committee. She plays flute for the Symphony of the Lakes and enjoys hand-quilting, baking and reading. She is also an occasional blogger. Amanda lives in Warsaw with her husband Dan and her son Alexander.)

My little garden spot is a partially shady lot inside the city limits of Warsaw. When I moved into my home, my landscaping was overgrown and weedy and filled with river rock. I have six big shade trees and two large pine trees. My gardening interests lie in flower gardens and vegetable gardens, both of which can be challenging on a small plot with lots of shade!

As a working mom, my time for gardening is limited, so I’m always looking for ways to save a few minutes in my garden. I also work on a pretty tight budget, so my garden plans are fairly modest. Most of the last two years, I’ve spent my time removing river rock, cutting out woody bushes and fighting back weeds. This year I began serious pruning on some overgrown burning bushes and juniper bushes.

Every year I add a little more to my garden. The one preexisting bright spot was a bed of irises and peonies in my backyard, to which I added a miniature lilac bush. The first year I added a memorial garden, featuring knockout roses, honeybun roses, salvia, boxwood and sweet william. The second year I added three vanilla strawberry hydrangeas and a small clematis. The following fall I put in a layered bulb bed with crocus, grape hyacinth, tulip and daffodils. Each of these plants was selected for their ability to thrive in partial sun and relative ease of care. I placed in the sunnier parts of my yard.

My vegetable plot is small, only 4-foot by 8-foot. I’ve tried a variety of vegetables in my garden, with little success. Cool summers, too much shade and bunny invasions have done in most of my efforts. As I was studying the master gardener course, one of the most important lessons I learned was “just give it a try!” So this year I’ll be making some changes and trying a few new things. I’ll share more about those in a future article.

I haven’t decided what I will add to my garden this year, but my list of ideas includes some ornamental grasses, some daylilies, some hosta and perhaps some lavender or herbs. I’ll be looking at gardening on a budget and looking for ways to keep things both simple and beautiful. I still have bushes to pull and river rock to haul, but I’m excited about ways to bring color and texture to my yard.

I look forward to sharing with you the happenings my garden and the things I learn this summer!