Meet Dee Nash from Guthrie Oklahoma!
Guthrie is a small town in Logan county a part of Oklahoma city with a population of a little over 10000 people. It was first known for its railroad stop after the land run of 1889. Wikipedia says, "The Guthrie Historic District includes more than 2,000 buildings and is designated as a National Historic Landmark... and its Victorian architecture provides a backdrop for Wild West and territorial-style entertainment, carriage tours, replica trolley cars, specialty shops, art galleries and yes, the home of Dee Nash! or as I like to call her Red, from Red Dirt Ramblings!
Oma: Tell us a little about yourself Red and what drew you to Gardening, when you started, etc.
Red: Like many other gardeners, I loved growing things. I followed my Grandma Nita around her garden. I still remember the black dirt (northeast Oklahoma) against my little white walking shoes. I also remember a few lessons she taught me about cabbage moths and such. I have a photo of her with her tomato plants in my kitchen. I started with houseplants in my teens, but my gardening didn’t really take off until I got married and had a place of my own.
Oma: yes! So much yes! My gosh we learned so much from our grandparents. That is one of the things too that I want my children and my grandchildren to remember, time in the garden those are wonderful precious memories that teach about taking care of things other than ourselves. Your land looks amazing tell us about it, have you had it in your family for a long time?
Red: My husband, Bill, moved here in his early 20s. He helped guide people to the empty lots when this neighborhood developed in the 1970s. We own 7.5 acres on a beautiful pond because he sold all the lots, and the developer said you need to buy yours now. He’s lived here about 45 years. I married Bill in 1989 and came to live here. We are east of I-35 so we have trees, sandy soil and rolling hills. The best of everything in Oklahoma because our soil is easy to amend with leaf mold, arborists chips and such. I do have pockets of clay, but I’ve worked on those too.
Oma: What a wonderful blessing! And to be able to watch it all grow and then pick your own as well that is a true joy. I lived in Texas my entire life and moved to Oklahoma in 2019. I was so in awe of the amazing soil from Sandy to loamy just beautiful soil. So wonderful to grow in; and, as you say the leaves! I know this sounds funny but the leaves are different here too! They are so crispy and they dry up so fast and disappear right into your soil before you even know it. So all the leaves go into my ground every single year I don't think I've thrown a leaf away since 2019!
Red: I live in an oak forest so my leaves don’t disappear like that. I think that’s one of the differences between your part of Oklahoma and mine. My leaves are fibrous, and I shred them before I use them as mulch or compost. Although I use them less because of the lonestar ticks. They like to nest in leaves.
Oma: What is the thing you enjoy most about gardening?
Red: The peace it gives me. The insects buzzing about except for Japanese beetles (LOL), the birds. Losing myself in the work.
Oma: I couldn't have said it better! There is a peace found in the garden isn't there? It's like we can go there and find where we began where life is where we were meant to be. What is the thing you like the least about gardening? What do you struggle with?
Red: I hate our heat and sometimes the humidity. I don’t think it’s easy to garden here. The ticks are a new challenge, and you know I have Alpha-gal syndrome from the lonestar tick. I’ve written about it on the blog. I get tired of not feeling well because I also have MCAS.
Oma: the heat can be crazy can't it? And the funny thing is Texas is so much hotter usually around 10° hotter there than it is here in Oklahoma. However the older we get, the hotter it seems to be regardless of the temperature 😂 That is a scary thing to have to think about the ticks. And I'm so sorry to hear that you're having to go through that. I guess with gardening comes bugs. it comes with the turf, the land the trees etc and I suppose ticks likes them too. For all of you reading yes this is a serious issue with ticks here is Reds link to learn more about Alpha Gal Syndrome and how to avoid it:
https://reddirtramblings.com/tick-bites-and-alpha-gal-syndrome/
Oma: What is your favorite plant(s) to grow and why?
Red: I like many plants. Roses, daylilies, prairie plants. I like anything that grows well here and thrives. Phlox paniculate especially some of the newer cultivars like Luminary Ultra Violet and Garden Girls Cover Girl. These are beautiful, hardy, and disease resistant like the passalong phlox I have. I also love to grow tomatoes and peppers.
Oma: It is hard to choose one plant isn't it? I mean seriously? There are so many beautiful plants to grow, why choose just one. We shall grow them all!. What is the plant you will not grow again and why?
Red: Rudbeckia ‘Goldsturm’ and Symphyotrichum drummondii, Drummond’s aster. I spend a lot of spring working to control these thugs. They can get out of control and quickly take over. I will never be rid of them.
Oma: Oh! 🤣 See that's where I have to laugh because gardeners are so different. I think it's amazing how we all see beauty in different things. I would never have chosen Rudbeckia simply because I like the fact that it shows up in random places and I can pull it or keep it if I want to. But that's the joy of having so many things to grow isn't it one can find what's best for them!
Red: I think my garden is wetter than yours from what I’ve seen on Instagram and perhaps that’s why it’s more of a thug here.
Oma: Do you want to try and grow something new this next season; if yes what?
Red: I grow something new every season just for fun.
Oma: it's so good that you do that! Would you know that I went probably 20 years without trying to grow anything new? Now I don't know why or how I did that. I think it was just comfort I knew what I could grow well and was almost in a way afraid to try something new. But there really is a joy in finding a plant you've never grown and trying to grow it. Especially if it's an odd plant like a gourd or something like that. So I totally agree everybody should try to grow at least one thing new every season. What is your best-learned lesson when it comes to caring for your garden?
Red: To let some things go and to reuse good plants. They help the garden to flow.
Oma: yes! I find that a lot with some tomatoes. Sometimes it's just better to grow the cherries cuz I know I'll get a lot of them. They are much easier to grow then the big giant tomatoes. So there is a balance to things and figuring out what works best in your space. What is the one thing you want new followers to know when they visit your page?
Red: That I love teaching people to garden. That’s why I’m a garden coach. I want everyone who wants to garden to be successful.
Oma: I think they see that Red for sure! I know I did and I've loved following your garden journeys. Who inspires you? If you could meet any gardener you wanted to, who would it be and why?
Red: I’ve met so many of them. Sharon Lovejoy is one of my dearest friends, and I used to read her column in Country Gardening or Country Living years ago. I would like to meet Fergus Garrett who is the head gardener at Great Dixter. That’s one garden I haven’t seen. They have garden workshops, and it’s a dream of mine to go over to the UK and stay to do one.
Oma: oh, wow yes he had a wonderful article in Horticulture Magazine called "A Conversation with Fergus Garrett. What a great place to be able to work every day. I have the UK dream in common with you as well. I would love to one day go there and meet all the wonderful people we've met on Instagram and see their Gardens. How can people find you if they want to learn more about you or listen to some of your series or read some of your blogs?
Red: My blog is Red Dirt Ramblings. I’ve written it for 17 years. My podcast is The Gardenangelists I record with my friend, Carol Michel. We also have a free newsletter. I’m also on Instagram and Facebook. Thanks Oma! This was so kind of you!
Oma: Your so welcome I have enjoyed so much getting to know more about you and your garden journey! Thank you for taking the time to share with all of us here at Oma's Gardens.
For More adventures with Gardens Around the World visit my blogs or click below and you can always find me on Facebook or Instagram!
Gardening Around the World - Episode 1
