For David Hobson, gardening season doesn’t begin and end with the May 2-4 planting deadline that most people follow each spring.
The 79-year-old Waterloo based columnist – who writes about gardening for the K-W Record, Hamilton Spectator and Peterborough Examiner, among other publications – finds ways to flex his green thumb year-round, whether its preparing mulch from fallen leaves in autumn or growing plants indoors during the colder months.
“I like to remind people you can keep on planting all summer if you’re very careful with watering,” he says, scoffing at the mad rush to get everything planted this time of year.
It’s this year-round dedication to the hobby that landed him on an episode in the ongoing fifth season of Ageless Gardens, a Canadian Screen Awards-nominated documentary series that profiles inspiring gardeners across Canada. The series is produced by VisionTV (a ZoomerMedia property).
Fittingly, Hobson is featured on the episode titled “Gardening for All Seasons,” which sees the documentary crew – helmed by Gemini-winning director Ian Toews – stop by the writer’s expansive garden at his Waterloo home during each of the four seasons.
Even during a visit in the dead of winter, when his beloved plants, flowers and shrubs lay dormant, Hobson manages to appreciate the beauty of his garden.
“It’s the shapes and forms of snow. If I just had a lawn in my backyard it would just be endless white, but when the snow falls it’s beautiful,” he tells the crew. “When it mounds over the shrubs and the flowers, topped like little ice cream cones, that’s also beautiful.”
Originally from Yorkshire, England, Hobson honed his gardening skills as a young boy, helping his father tend to his rose garden.
“He’s influenced me in that I was just around the garden,” he explains. “I didn’t do much, I was the labourer,” he adds with a laugh.
Today, it’s a labour of love in more ways than one. Despite having new, disease-resistant roses available for purchase, Hobson replants his peace rose every spring in memory of his father – an older variety he’s kept going for over 30 years.
Gardening is also another creative outlet that feeds directly into his love of both writing and photography.
“I’ve always enjoyed taking photographs,” Hobson, whose columns often include his original snaps, explains during the episode. “I just love to capture the absolute exquisite artisticness of the flower blossoms.”
Ahead of the Victoria Day long weekend planting frenzy, Hobson spoke to Zoomer about what he’s excited to plant, the benefits of the hobby and gardening tips to keep the aches and pains away.
ZOOMER: What’s on your radar this planting season?
DAVID HOBSON: Anything I haven’t seen before. I’m a sucker for plants. Lisianthus is a popular one now making headways into garden centres. It opens and it actually looks like a rose – it could fool people, except the foliage is totally different.
ZOOMER: Do you work up a decent sweat while gardening?
DH: I kept my phone with me with Strava [an exercise tracker] on one time. It showed my route up and down the backyard during planting time – it was just a scribble of lines. I think it’s been acknowledged that gardening is good exercise, especially when you’re getting older. We’re not talking about digging huge holes, but just the gentle side of a little hoeing, a little weed pulling – bending, stretching, it’s all good for you.
And it’s good for mental health too, being in the garden around green things. I’d like to think if I hadn’t been in the garden, I might be quite stressed out. I’m fairly laid back most of the time. Maybe that’s a result of gardening.
ZOOMER: What is it about gardening that puts you at ease?
DH: Just being with nature, there’s always something to see. I go out each morning to see what’s sprouting up, what’s flowering and watch things come into life – spot a new insect, bird, butterfly, they’re all interesting. And then I grab my camera, so it envelops me.
ZOOMER: As an older gardener, how do you keep the aches and pains away?
DH: I would say don’t overdo it, because that’s my problem – and then there’s some creaks and groans for a day or two.
Mulch where you can. That cuts down any weeding that you have to do. Planting is one thing, but once I spread the mulch I don’t have to get down much anymore. I use my old rotten leaves from fall. I pile them up in fall and let them rot down and I take them off and they look like tiles that I just lay on the flower beds. They decompose and feed the soil and we start all over again next year.
Make your garden smaller if necessary. That’s easier said than done, but you can slowly cut back.
ZOOMER: What has gardening taught you about life?
DH: Resilience. Don’t be disappointed when something dies, it’s just an opportunity to plant something new. There’s always another day in the garden.
Ageless Gardens airs Monday nights on Vision TV at 9:00 p.m. ET/6:00 p.m. PT.
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