SO continues its celebration of mothers with a spotlight on Andrea Cowan’s passion for gardening. Cowan along with her husband Peter, co-principals, Lillan Ltd, were recent finalists in the 2024 Ernst and Young Families in Business awards category.

Cowan responds to SO Gardening’s query: When, where and how did your passion for gardening commence?

Had I not been asked this question, I probably would have continued my fascination with and love of nature without really asking myself why it is that I appreciate nature’s gifts.

The truth is, I grew up with a mother who really appreciated the finer things in life. She had an uncanny knack for teaching lessons without letting the student know that they were being taught. That said, we were made to leave our privileged Kingston upbringing every summer to visit with family in the country and discover what it was like to pick a fully ripened star apple from the tree and appreciate walking under the coffee trees to pick up the “rat cut” or, even better, enjoy the sweetness of the coffee berry.

Monica, my mum, was wise. She spent time with us in the market teaching us how to choose the yams when they had the fine roots on them, because those were the ones that spend enough time in the ground; the experts will tell you that they are just coming to fullness when they have passed 12-18 months in the ground. Each meal had to be served with plantain just sweet enough and pear (avocado), chilled to perfection, on the side. No meal was complete without two slices of plantain and two slices of pear. But this story is about orchids and gardening, so here we go!

In the cool hills of Carnie, not too far from Clydesdale, is where our family roots are and each of us knows that no picture is complete without standing adjacent to a blooming bush of some sort. Be it the hibiscus or the poinsettias. Growing up in Kingston meant we had to have a yard large enough to accommodate the fruit trees along with a garden filled with roses; red, pink and white gingers — the more exotic the more attractive they seemed to be to Ms Mons. When I grew older, it became my chore to water the garden every evening and without realising it, I picked up little tricks from the people around us: Ezekiel, who assisted us in the garden; Auntie Sonia, our family’s horticulturist; Geoffrey Shields, my choirmaster; and Tracey Payne at Raeburn who helped me figure out that I could mix the miticide with the fungicide along with the fertiliser to create the perfect cocktail applied weekly to create healthy blooming plants.

I enjoy every moment spent in my garden and yes, while I tend to my garden along with Kevin, I enjoy getting my hands dirty and into the thick of things. Over the years I discovered that if I vary the places I purchase from and the time of year I buy the plants, I will always have blooms. Orchids have given me hours of joy over the years, trekking from Evergrow, to Best Buds, to Hamilton’s to the orchid shows, and many nooks and crannies around Jamaica. It also pays to have friends who share your passion and are willing to share a little piece of this one and a keiki from that one.

Nature’s gifts are perfect every time, and when you explore the nuances of each flower and the intricacies of the blooms, it is nothing short of amazing that all this beauty is around us to enjoy. I have a relatively small garden, but I enjoy every inch of it. From the koi pond to the birds that grace us with their music every morning. I am grateful and feel blessed to have been taught to appreciate and care for these beauties.