a garden of my own

I should probably start by saying, it's not really 'my' own garden, but 'my family's' own garden because my husband and our two dogs use it too, along with racoons, other people's cats, a bunny, lots of birds like hummingbirds, twohees, robins, woodpeckers, northern flickers and so many more that I will one day identify.

There are also the ladybirds, pillbugs, aphids, wasps, bees, hoverbees, dragonflies... I could go on.

We bought our house in 2005 and a couple years later I built a couple raised veggie beds. Then two more raised veggie beds, then an ornamental bed to create more room because neighbours down the street kept giving us shrubs and perennials. And so it went for a few years. But then my focus changed as I immersed myself into volunteering at a local animal shelter.
I'd plant some veggies some summers, but things started to languish a bit. Then we started going out to visit family on the prairies for a 2-3 weeks each summer and I didn't see the point of growing things I wouldn't be around to water or harvest... 

But then came 2020.
Knowing we weren't going to go far from home, I put lots of time and energy into the back garden - building new beds, hauling rocks, planting seeds and seedlings.
Then it started to grow.

My photography is very documentary based and I've spent a lot of time photographing all the things that make up other people's lives.
So one day I decided to document the garden, like I did for other people.
And I'm so glad I did because it's given me a chance to look back on some of my own life and the hits, misses, accomplishments and moments in time that make up our family garden.

All images © wendy nesbitt | Prints available by request.