If there was ever a person who was born without a green thumb it would be me. I love flowers and gardens, fruits and veggies, but the mere thought of growing anything myself is laughable. That’s why, when Jackie Albarella contacted me and said that she had started a new container garden business, my ears perked up. One of Jackie’s many passions is growing flowers and edibles. Since she was little she had a knack for tending gardens, and found that she excelled in all things growing green. Throughout her life Jackie always helped out her friends and family when it came to offering gardening advice and planting. She’s a wiz when it comes to what types of seedlings grow in various light and soil conditions, and her specialty is especially apparent when she is working with containers of all shapes and sizes. That means that she excels in creating urban-friendly gardens – perfect for the person who likes to have a constant supply of cut flowers, chives, parsley, tomatoes, scallions, leafy lettuces, peppers, etc.
Whether you have your own containers, or Jackie provides them for you, the idea of planting and tending to a miniature harvest suddenly becomes less daunting. After all, there are so many benefits when it comes to container gardens. If you live in the city, chances are you don’t have a big yard (or any yard at all). If you do have a yard, then you must contend with the critters that are constantly trying to chomp at everything that you plant. Container gardens can be places both indoors and outdoors – preferably as close to the kitchen as possible. Whether she’s talking about vertical gardens, microclimates, packaging seeds, or procuring natural pesticides in the form of flowers, Jackie is able to take in your residential or commercial surroundings in order to provide you with a happy, healthy gardening lifestyle that is in tune with your abilities and passions. “Gardening should never be a chore,” she told me. “We have enough work in our lives. Gardening is a hobby that the entire family can enjoy. If you have kids, it teaches them how to be responsible and how to care for something. It also shows them where food comes from – not from a can or a box, but from the earth. Kids love to eat healthy if they can get their hands dirty while they are doing it. There’s nothing like being able to pick your own vegetables to put in a salad. Or even cut some lettuce leafs to make the salad. Talk about self sustaining.”
While Jackie specializes in space saving container gardening for city dwellers, she is also very knowledgable when it comes to more traditional gardening. If you’ve got a yard that you would like to turn into a area filled with edible delights, Jackie can help. To me, in a world where everything is about bottom line convenience, there’s nothing like reaping what you sow in your own home. After years of watching others growing vegetables, I was finally able to take the initial plunge thanks to Jackie. It’s amazing how easy she made it all seem. What she told me and what she showed me actually made sense, and a little bit of hand holding has put me on a path that will hopefully yield some serious bounty for years to come.
If you would like to learn more about Jackie’s Kitchen Gardens, just click here. Or send her an email. If you’re serious about learning how to grow a manageable garden, with relatively low maintenance, then Jackie can show you the way too.