Let’s get to know each other!
Since we’re not able to meet up in person this year, let’s meet online. Every week we’re introducing a member* of our Fling community here and on Instagram, in their own words. We’re excited to see what everyone’s talking about and sharing with their followers!
(*Any garden blogger, vlogger, podcaster, or Instagrammer who follows our Instagram or is a member of our Facebook group. If you’d like to be considered or recommend someone for a Meet Our Community profile, email us.)
Angela Judd
Growing in the Garden is where I share inspiration and tips to help others be successful in their own gardens, with an emphasis on how to garden in the low desert of Arizona and other hot climates.
When I first began gardening, it was difficult to find specific information about gardening in my climate. I started my garden in Mesa, Arizona, with one 4×4-foot raised bed and gradually added one raised bed or container at a time. As I began to have success, I shared pictures of my garden and what I was learning on Instagram, joining the supportive gardening community there.
I started my blog to reach a broader audience. Blogging has pushed me to continually learn new things, practice them in my own garden, and then share what I’ve learned on my website, YouTube, and other social channels.
My writing journey began with articles I wrote for a Master Gardener newsletter. Writing didn’t come easily to me, but I kept at it. My writing muscle was stretched even further this year by writing a book. How to Grow Your Own Food: An Illustrated Beginner’s Guide to Container Gardening comes out in May 2021.
My favorite place, however, is not behind the computer, writing about gardening, but out in the garden with hands in the dirt. From only one small raised bed 12 years ago, I’m now up to 18 raised beds, plus several in-ground beds and containers. Vegetables, herbs, flowers, and fruit trees – I love growing them all. As the mother of five children, I especially enjoy growing and preparing food from the garden for my family.
Although gardening in Arizona has its challenges, we are lucky to be able to grow citrus easily. We almost take it for granted. I love the endless variety of available citrus (17 different types grow in my garden), its year-round greenery and fragrant blossoms, and the harvests.
My favorite public garden is The Butchart Gardens in Victoria, British Columbia – easily the most beautiful garden I’ve ever seen. Difficult as it is to imagine, Butchart was once a worked-out limestone quarry. I had no idea what to expect when I visited, but then a curving path opened up to an amazing view, and it literally took my breath away.
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Thanks for sharing your work and your gardening passions with us, Angela! You can follow Angela at her blog, Growing in the Garden, her Instagram, and her YouTube channel.
Photographs courtesy of Angela Judd.
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