This summer she, along with husband Wendell, is sharing the results of her efforts as part of the Miami County Master Gardener Volunteers’ Miami County in Bloom Garden Tour. The tour, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday, July 20, will feature six gardens in Troy and Piqua.
The Meltons have gardened on Kensington Court in Troy for the past four years after moving to Miami County from Brookville, where they had lived around 35 years.
Pam Melton’s earlier memories of gardening are fond ones, beginning with being in the hospital to have her tonsils removed at age six. During that stay, her grandfather brought her a small container of petunias.
“I was so excited because he brought me my petunias,” she said. “We all lived in Brookville. I followed him around and he showed me a lot of stuff about gardening. The things I remember about gardening are the things that grandpa taught me, and then I went out on my own and did my own stuff.”
Husband Wendell helps her in the garden using skills allowing him to “build about anything” to help accessorize the gardens. The couple visit salvage places, looking for pieces they can convert for garden use.
The gardens feature mostly flowers but there is a large, raised vegetable bed surrounded by bird houses. New to the garden this year are fairy houses Melton made recently with her granddaughters ages three and six.
“We just kind of experiment with this. I have a wide, wide variety of plants, some from friends, some from my grandparents. There’s a lot of family things around, too,” she said.
Melton joined the Master Gardener program in Montgomery County in 2011 and the Miami County group when she moved to the county.
She finds gardening relaxing. “Everyone has their own interest, passion. If it is something that you really love to do, it is amazing, wonderful, relaxing. This is not work for me, but for someone else, it might be,” she said.
Melton said she enjoys a variety of plants. She was an educator for 40 years pursuing the gardening hobby at home while working as a home economics teacher, biology teacher, guidance counselor and principal.
She enjoyed her career, referring to former students , some with whom she still stays in touch, as “my kids.” The Meltons also have three sons.
Tickets are $15 presale or $20 the day of the tour. Children 10 and over must have a ticket. For more information, visit http://go.osu/MiamiGardenTour or call 937-440-3945.
Contact this contributing writer at nancykburr@aol.com
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