by Lydia Holley July 26, 2021
While some gardeners enjoy colorful flowers, Master Gardener Rachel Bayless’ garden is filled with lush, beautiful vegetables. “My garden is all edible plants,” she says. “This year I grew several different types of squash and beans. I like to have lots of paste tomatoes for soups and sauces. I also have herbs to use fresh or to dry when the season is over. I have several different types of peppers to pickle or to make jelly. I also have melons, berries, and a couple of fruit trees.”
“I’m a big fan of eating,” Bayless says with a laugh when asked why she devotes so much energy into food production. “I enjoy cooking with fresh ingredients, and I like to grow different varieties and varieties that you can’t get at the grocery store. I enjoy having fresh veggies to feed to my family. It wasn’t until I grew my own lettuce that I realized how old the produce is in most grocery stores. I also enjoy preserving what I grow to use during the winter months.”
Filling her family’s table with nutritious food was not the goal when Bayless began gardening. At first, she just wanted to escape the pressures of being a mother. “I started gardening after I had my first child and left the work field to become a stay at home mom. There are many joys in becoming a parent, but we all need a little quiet ‘me’ time. So, I made a 12’x9’ vegetable garden and it helped tremendously. With every year the garden got bigger.”
She now invites her children into the garden with her. “A tractor is really expensive, so I decided to have a third child instead. I joke, but they really are a tremendous help. They help plant seeds, harvest, and make the best bug hunters. They all help me in the garden.”
Bayless joined the Master Gardener program to “learn more about different areas of gardening and to be surrounded by like-minded people.” She says, “I have enjoyed the personal relationships I have made with my fellow Master Gardeners. This allows me the ability to talk or text a gardening problem through with one of them. To have that resource so readily available is amazing.”
Since Bayless is outgoing and cheerful by nature, she most enjoys volunteering at Henderson County Master Gardener Association’s (HCMGA) booths at special events throughout the county. “I like meeting the people in our community and helping them find the answers to their gardening problems.”
For more information, call 903-675-6130, email hendersonCMGA@gmail.com.
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