“A flower cannot blossom without sunshine nor a garden without love.” — Chinese Proverb

One of the most interesting conversations on gardening that I’ve had in quite a while was with Sandra Harris for the benefit of this article. Her authentic passion for plants and her ability to describe the circle of life, the connectivity between humans, plants and God, gave reason for a contemplative pause. Martha Stewart once said that “gardening is a humbling experience”. Indeed it is.

The garden

Sandra describes her garden story as a generational journey. “We didn’t have much. My grandfather was a farmer. When my mother was in England, he farmed to see us through. He did it gracefully. He did it generously. I grew up around plants. They’ve always been around me,” she shares.

Having made the decision to become a homemaker as a wife and mother of four, Sandra’s relationship with nature deepened. “When I came back from England, I met my husband Patrick and decided to settle down. My husband Patrick and I had our first child, Patrique. Then we went on to the second, Sheldon and then twin boys, Brian and Brandon…Gardening for me was getting out of the house, the energy, keeping it positive and growing. It’s mental, physical and spiritual. You can talk to the flowers and they never talk back to you. Spiritually you can talk to your God. You can talk to him so it helped me to release. It was my space to exhale. Looking back, I’m glad that I stayed home and I’m glad that my garden brought me closer to my creator,” she says.

The prayer plant

The prayer plant sourced from the cool hills of Ewarton (varieties of Makoyana, Marantha and Calathea) resides on the fashionable side of town. Sandra quips, “Old time somethin’ come back again…the prayer plant is a good plant to have around you. It’s a plant that closes up at nights. It literally closes like it’s praying. It’s doing very well in the market now. Every other person is interested in a prayer plant…I’ve been propagating.”

Patience, the virtue

The grace in gardening rests upon the solid foundation of patience. There’s a kind of honour that accompanies these agronomic lessons. Woven into the tapestry is a quiet dignity garnered by learning over time, a wisdom imparted by seemingly motionless organisms. The gardener revels in the stillness of it all, energetically feeding off of the photosynthesis. In that vein, Sandra relays a gem that stems from her outdoor experience, “Be patient with your plants. Be patient with yourself. Let us not compete with each other. We need to complete each other. Be patient with each other. Sometimes we can run ahead of everything and everything else gets left behind. I think, as humans, we were made to complete each other, not compete.”

Sanna’s Garden Delights

Coined at Dinthill Technical School in Linstead, “Sanna” is Sandra’s nickname. Hence, the naming of her nursery, “Sanna’s Garden Delights”.

A pandemic baby, Sanna’s Garden Delights started about a year ago when Sandra decided that she finally had the time to “sit back, put it on paper and give gardening more care and attention”.

“During the pandemic, my daughter Patrique came home from overseas for a wedding. While she was here, the lockdown began and she started working remotely from here for over a year. She encouraged me and helped me to set up online. I’m really proud of her for helping me and giving me good advice. Even with this article, she said ‘Mummy, do it. You pray for doors to be open and God has opened the door, just do it…’ It was just over a year ago that we were busy with a logo and trying to do it ourselves. You know, the transition from then until now…it’s really growing. We are really proud of Sanna’s. I really appreciate the support and love that I get…It’s a wonderful space to be in, in these times.”

Sanna’s Garden Delights’ client base now spans the island. Plants are sent to gleeful recipients in Montego Bay and St Elizabeth via Knutsford Express with Wednesday being the weekly delivery day for Kingstonians.

Sandra says, “People are looking for permanent plants for home and office. Plants that are going to last them like alocasia, snake plants, Aglaonema, Philodendrons, Sun Vandas, Dendrobiums, rubber plants, cacti, bromeliads, desert rose and hibiscus. We do stock hybrid roses, Hoya, Mussaenda…Crotons are actually really coming back. Millenniums love plants but they want plants that aren’t going to give them any trouble in their gardens.” Sanna’s Garden also distributes its own potting soil and organic manure.

A garden of gratitude

With gratitude as the attitude, this Sunday, Sandra is thankful to God for her gardening gift, is appreciative of all of her customers and sends love to all of the plant moms and dads on the Rock.

Gratitude is also gleaned from gardening. With a little inspiration from words written by Debasish Mridha, in the coming week, let us consciously strive, individually and collectively, to “be the gardener of gratitude to grow flowers of happiness” in our gardens and also in every aspect of our lives.