Our Story
Sisters, Barbara McFadden, left and Brenda Gousha,
right. |
We grew up with a mother who loved to garden. She had
a busy life with six of us to raise, five girls and a boy. The
big garden surrounding our adobe house was her refuge, from us,
probably. She would stay out until dark, tangling with
the pyracantha or the bougainvillea, leaving big pruning piles
in her wake. We remember her hands and arms always scratched
from her gardening encounters. She didn’t care; the
garden made her happy and was a welcome respite from her crazy
life as a wife and mom.
Our growing-up garden was lovely. Mother was an Arkansas
girl and fell in love with the mild, San Diego climate. She
was a natural; an intuitive gardener and her slightly wild plant
choices reflected that. She grew Bird-of-Paradise, Banana
Trees, Aralias and Breath of Heaven. She brought home Cymbidium
Orchids, Plumeria starts from Hawaii and her very favorite, Cup-of-Gold
vine which she grew from cuttings.
How could we not grow up to be gardeners?
At the age of nine, I took over my mom’s Rose Garden. It
was positioned on a slope, with terraced beds of adobe block. I
am sure I did more harm than good, down amongst the roses, but
it became a tranquil and satisfying world for me. Eventually,
I would obtain a Degree in Horticulture and spend the next 25
years designing and caring for some very large (and a few very
small) gardens.
My sister Barbara creates gardens wherever she lives. Always,
she grows culinary herbs and delicious things to eat. In
1994, Barbara became a Master Gardener, focusing on creating
and maintaining Children’s Gardens in her community. In
the last decade, Barbara has given a few hundred field trips
to kids in our town.
Our business, Sisters Specialty Gardens was established in 1997,
after an inspiring trip to Southern England, in search of garden
splendor. We tramped through the most gorgeous, carefully
cultivated gardens imaginable. With those beautiful, old gardens
in mind, we began a small garden business focused on excellence. Our
goal was to create elegant designs with meticulous follow-up
maintenance. This little business slowly grew and was met
with great success. Our clients wanted and appreciated
the elevated level of care that we happily provided.
This garden website grows naturally out of those experiences
together, in the field. We’ve learned many things
about creating and keeping beauty going in the garden, year after
year. To do this work, great tools and products are a must. We’ve
had gloves that got too soggy, shears that were ever dull and
hats that made us too hot. I won’t even mention our
efforts to find the perfect clog!
We offer here the tools and garden necessities that really work
for us as garden professionals. Also offered are a few
pampering items we like to reward ourselves with after a long
day of gardening. We hope you’ll enjoy all of it!
-Brenda Gousha |
