Rosemary Fernandes-Walker is sharing her passion for gardening with Guelph.
After starting the Facebook group Guelph Gardeners in April 2020, she has watched the group flourish to now over 4,500 members.
And, she says, numbers just keep on growing.
“The group’s focus is on being positive and feeling good. It's about sharing pics of our gardens, flowers, asking questions, sharing knowledge, and helping others to learn how to garden. There is no selling, no memes, no negativism,” Fernandes-Walker said.
“People ask all sorts of questions such what is this plant, how do I deal with this particular disease, or do you think this will look ok in my front yard? And people just jump in with answers.”
Guelph Gardeners made its debut at the start of the COVID-19 pandemic.
“At that point, we thought it would last a couple of weeks. It was kind of a ‘let’s get through this thing this spring by doing something fun, while focusing on our gardens'. I thought of it as a temporary thing, initially,” Fernandes-Walker said.
“I figured we needed to focus on being in our own spaces, but it didn't have to be within our homes. By encouraging people to get outside, we were helping our own mental health.”
The pandemic did see a rise in gardeners and sparked a lot more interest in those wanting to get started.
“It’s definitely been a great family thing too, just being in your own yard and getting some fresh air,” Fernandes-Walker said.
“And now, people want more vegetable gardens just because of the cost of produce these days. People are paying more attention to where they spend their money.”
Fernandes-Walker recently graduated from a Master Gardener program and is a member of Guelph Wellington Master Gardeners, a non-for-profit organization with certified horticultural experts who provide gardening information to the public on a volunteer basis.
The goal is to help and educate people about gardening.
“I am now a master gardener after graduating from the program at Dalhousie University. It was all through correspondence, and they have a program specific to Ontario,” Fernandes-Walker said.
“Master gardeners are put on this earth to educate people about gardening and plants. This is something I’ve always enjoyed doing and now I’ve become a bit of an expert with my education.”
As part of her designation, Fernandes-Walker has to engage in so many hours of continuing education as well as volunteer work.
"It's a lot of fun because there are a lot of people who want to learn about gardening. And there’s such a variety of people who might not know what a Hosta is or they will ask questions about a disease in their plants,” Fernandes-Walker said.
“It's been great being able to help people through this Guelph Gardeners group. And it has really helped me with my learning as well, having to look up answers to questions.”
Fernandes-Walker's love of gardening has also spread to her family. She and her husband have five grown children and four grandchildren.
“My mom was always an avid gardener having flower gardens and vegetable gardens, and so were my aunts. There were six siblings on my mom’s side and all of the women loved to garden So, it’s kind of been in our family for a long time,” Fernandes-Walker said.
“My parents came from Portugal in their early 20’s but they still have quite a bit of family there. We were actually just there. All of my cousins in Portugal love to garden too. It seems to be a family trait.”
Even her children have developed the gardening bug.
“Funnily enough, my daughter and her husband decided to put in a bit of an orchard. They now have eight veggie garden beds and about a dozen fruit trees. And they have flower gardens that they are now starting up too. Our other two daughters and their partners garden too. They are always asking me, what do you think I should do, or can I plant this here?” Fernandes-Walker said.
“My five-year-old grandson also loves to garden. He has his own garden and he wanted to pick what he wanted in it. It’s great to see the grandkids have a love for it as well.”
When not gardening, Fernandes-Walker works full-time as a national account manager where she recently convinced her office to plant some flower boxes outside.
Anyone with an interest in gardening can join Guelph Gardeners.
“The Facebook group is about sharing our love of gardening, and sharing pictures of our gardens that we love,” Fernandes-Walker said.
“It’s a very positive group and that is something that I have really appreciated. There’s no negativity that you might find elsewhere.”
Fernandes-Walker says she tries to post as much as she can, but group members always have lots to share and keep conversations going.
"I won't take credit for it all, as the group is truly run by all of the members who continue to participate on a regular basis to bring people joy," she said.
"I have my front garden posted on the site. People from the group recognize it and they come by asking if I’m Rosemary. I always thank them for stopping by. It’s so great to get to know other gardeners and meet every one."
Guelph Gardeners is active all year. In the winter, people post about their indoor plants, or starting their seeds for spring.
“I’m just looking to share with more people who want to be a part of something positive and want to learn about gardening at the same time," Fernandes-Walker said.
" I just want to share the joy."
