Farmington sisters Jessica Duncan, Meghan Gregory and Nikki Sheriff love to garden. So much so they started a blog called Sisters in the Garden to share their mutual love of gardening, give tips, and create an online gardening community.  

“Growing something is a good feeling,” said Duncan. “Our mother and grandmothers have had a huge influence in our lives. They inspired us with their flower beds, rose, and vegetable gardens. We have so many fond memories of the hours we spent picking, processing, and canning food from our gardens in our childhood home.” 

As adults, they each were drawn back to this special place where many of their fond childhood memories took place. “My garden started as more of a stress reliever,” said Duncan. “A place I could grow and destress.” 

“After I got married and had a couple of kids, I was dealing with postpartum depression,” said Gregory. “My mother-in-law (who also happens to be a huge gardener) suggested that I take some time for myself and go outside to play in the dirt and sun. It was just what I needed.”  

“For me, I just love to cook, so it was about growing food that I could use for canning,” said Sheriff.

 “I wouldn’t even say I was good at gardening, but I loved making salsa. The more I gardened, the better I got and the more I loved it.” 

“When we started our blog and Instagram page, it was purely for fun,”  said Gregory. “We saw it as a creative way for us to share our love of gardening. As we’ve gained more and more followers, we've had so many people from all over the world message us to let us know how our page has inspired them to garden, and to try new things. It has been a joy to make new friends, and has made all the time spent well worth it.”

“I love going out to the garden after dinner for at least an hour every night and getting to watch the sunset and listen to the birds while I weed and garden. It’s a great way to decompress and it makes me feel accomplished,” said Duncan.

“I love going barefoot out into my garden and feeling the dirt between my toes,”said Gregory. “I love the peacefulness of gardening and listening to my girls play in the background.”

“It’s fun to call my sisters to share my wins, photos and to get advice,” said Sheriff. 

“As we’ve worked in our individual gardens, we've discovered that we each have our own unique strengths,” said Duncan. “My strength is growing big and beautiful dahlias and making some delicious jams.”

“I have learned to enrich the dirt in my garden which has helped me to grow some big and beautiful veggies,” said Gregory. 

“I just love the design of it all,” said Sheriff. “Putting together garden setups and making it look pretty. I love taking photographs of my garden, cooking foods from my garden and taking pretty pictures of them. Salsa is my favorite thing to make from my garden and a chili sauce from our grandmother’s recipe.” 

“Each year as we plan, plant, and nurture our gardens, we find that there are always some failures,”said Gregory. “But we are constantly learning new things, and finding new ways to turn those failures into successes. That's part of the fun! We share on our blog when an idea is a flop to help educate others on our gardening journey. Fear of failure holds many people back, so they never dive in, but sometimes you just have to jump!”  

“It’s important to remember, when it comes to gardening, that there is always next year. Remember to rotate your produce every year,” said Sheriff. “Do your research or try a new spot and don’t get discouraged.” 

“Some easy starter plants to have in your garden are peas, zucchini, and herbs,” said Gregory. “Herbs are a great place to start and you can branch off from there. Another tip is that if you buy green onions from the store and chop off the top, plant the base and stick them in the ground and they will grow.”  

“Gardening has become such a joyful thing for us, whether we work together as sisters, or in the serenity of our own personal gardens,” said Duncan. “We hope that others will find the same happiness through gardening that we have found for ourselves and our families.” 

“A great way to involve your kids in the gardening process is to let them choose some of their own seeds,” said Gregory. “Make those plants their responsibility. They get so excited to see something they planted grow and enjoy getting to be a part of that process.” 

“Make your kids your gardening companions,” said Duncan. “Show them the things that you are growing and they will be more willing to try new things from the garden when they are a part of the process.” 

“Our goal is to help the younger generation change their view of gardening, instead of thinking about it as something that their grandparents do,” said Duncan. “We want to promote gardening as something worth trying, with lovely and delicious rewards. The high costs of core ingredients have not only made food more expensive for families, but those costs are expected to worsen food insecurity. So why not try to be more self-reliant!” 

“This year, I am also starting a cut garden business to sell my flowers,” said Duncan. She will be selling fresh, home-grown flowers and possibly doing some garden consultations to help people start and expand their gardens. 

To learn more about Sisters in the Garden or for gardening tips follow them on Instagram @sisters.inthe.garden or check out their website at sistersistersinthegarden.com. l