Join us as we explore the gardens and the stories behind the gardens of club members from around the country! This week we are in San Antonio, Texas with an original club member, Lesley Lloyd. Let’s see what she is growing!

Black Thumb Garden Club Member Garden Spotlights

Black Thumb Garden Club was started with an idea that many people want to garden, but have no idea where to start or have tried and failed and gotten discouraged. Lauresa and I both tried and failed and got discouraged on our own. And then we met each other. We spent a lot of time talking to each other about our gardens, sharing tips and tricks, and admiring each others hard work.

We often claim that Black Thumb Garden Club was founded in 2018, but in reality, I suppose it was founded when Lauresa and I started our very own (and very tiny) support group. And guess what? Our gardens got better. I learned from Lauresa and I hope that she learned from me. And her garden inspired me.

When we first started Black Thumb Garden Club, we loved that our members would excitedly show us their gardens. We loved seeing their progress and quite frankly, we found ourselves being inspired by what we saw. For a while now, we have dreamed of being able to showcase gardens from around the country (heck, let’s showcase gardens from around the world!) as a means to inspire all of us.

I am super excited to be able to bring to you our very first garden spotlight! I moved to San Antonio from Northwest Arkansas in March 2018. Lesley moved to San Antonio from the Dallas area a few months later with her husband and four daughters and we quickly became friends. She heard about the still very new Black Thumb Garden Club and she quickly joined the club! It has been delightful to see her garden progress and I love talking gardening with her. I couldn’t think of a better person to highlight for our first spotlight!

Lesley’s Story

Let’s start with her gardening story, as told by herself:

“From a young age, I can remember helping in my family's garden and enjoying picking strawberries from our little patch, pulling up carrots and enjoying okra. After my husband and I got married, I knew I wanted to have a little garden of my own one day, especially to make one of my favorite foods, pesto! A friend of mine offered me some fresh basil from her garden so I could make my first batch of homemade pesto and I was hooked! I didn't have the space for a garden at that point, but I found myself going to the local farmer's market to get fresh basil.

When we moved to San Antonio a year ago I finally had a backyard with the space and sunlight ideal for a garden, but I wasn't sure where to start and to be honest, I couldn't even keep little indoor potted plants alive. It felt so overwhelming and seemed like there were so many variables to get right in order to have success. One of the first friends I made in San Antonio was Mariah Petrosino. She told me about her gardening club and resources for beginning gardeners and I had hope!

It was incredible to have a friend and mentor I could ask questions to and get ideas from, and the workbook resources helped break down the gardening process into easy steps. Last summer my husband built me my first gardening box and little did I know just how much I would enjoy gardening!!! I've loved it so much, that he surprised me and built me a second gardening box this year for Mother's Day!

I absolutely love waking up in the morning and heading out to my garden to see what's growing, and it's so gratifying to use foods grown in the garden to feed my family! I'm still learning so much about gardening and I think that's what makes it so fun!”

What Lesley’s Garden Looks Like

On a sunny morning a few weeks ago, I got to hang out with Lesley in her garden while our girls ran around and played. I loved seeing how great her garden looks and I walked away with some ideas for my own garden! This year, she is growing basil (bring on the pesto!), cherry tomatoes, bell peppers, banana peppers, serrano peppers, strawberries, watermelon, and marigolds in two raised beds.

One of my favorite features of Lesley’s garden is her hog fence panel a-frame that she is growing her watermelon on. It is tall and sturdy and takes up little space. I want one! To support her watermelon on the trellis, she attaches nylon/knit hammocks under each watermelon.

Little watermelons growing safely in their hammocks.

I had some questions for Lesley… some questions that I have been really curious about as they pertain to all of our club members. Let’s see what she had to say:

What has been your biggest challenge in the garden?

Pests. Figuring out how to deal with bugs eating and destroying the garden and then figuring out what organic methods are out there to deal with the problem.

What has been your biggest joy related to gardening?

I love going out and seeing what has grown since I was last out there. I also love bringing it in for my family to enjoy. Last year, my tomatoes were not very sweet, but this year, they are super sweet. It has been fun to see improvement!

What is your best advice for a new gardener?

I am learning the importance of fertilizer and I have been more consistent this year. I go out every Monday morning and fertilize. I can see the difference since I added this to my routine. Also, start simple and don’t get discouraged. It felt overwhelming to start all at once, but I have been learning from my mistakes.

What her kids have to say?

Addy (age 10)- I like the food. It tastes really good. It takes a lot of work and time.

Emery (age 9)- When asked what she liked about the garden, she responded with “Everything!” She then went on to describe how she liked the sour tomatoes and described what they look like in detail. I was quite impressed with her knowledge of tomatoes and how to identify which ones taste sour!

Elyse (age 6)- I am still waiting on the watermelon, but I am excited for it!

We Want to See Your Garden!

We intend to make garden spotlights a regular feature on our blog and want to spotlight your garden! Send your story (with lots of photos, please) to blackthumbgardenclub@gmail.com! Want to connect with other gardeners? Join our Facebook group: Black Thumb Garden Club with Lauresa and Mariah!