PEGGY PAULHUS
Nepean Allotment Gardens Association, Viewmount Drive, July 19, 2016.
“I’m 73. I’ve been gardening here for six or seven years now, but I’ve been a farm girl, so I’ve been practically gardening for about 50 years. I’m originally from Saskatchewan, south of Regina, a little town called Tribune, way out in the sticks. We were a very self-sustaining family. We had our own meat, we had our own vegetables. We had everything. Wheat fields, oats…
“I moved from home when I was about 17, and we came here, after we got married, in 1964. That’s when we settled in and built a home here. This area is called Borden Farm.
“I have two plots here: the perennial and the annual. But it’s getting to be a little bit harder now, so I’m probably going to give up the annual and keep the perennial.
“I have all the berry bushes I can think of — blueberries, raspberries, red currant, black currant. My grandson Nathan asked me to make some black currant jelly.
“I also have asparagus and potatoes and dill. Sometimes flowers, depending on how energetic I am. And tomatoes and lots of garlic. And some onions and parsley … horseradish … just whatever I need for the family. If we have too much, there’s one day a week that we can give to the food bank, which I think is a great idea.
“I come here probably twice a week. I love the produce, and I love being out here in the sun and the fresh air. I like getting my hands in the dirt; there are a lot of minerals in that soil, and sometimes it’s nice to be barefoot in the soil. That’s what I really love about it. I think the farm girl is still in me, and it’s hard to let it go. This has been my life, really. It’s a good life.”