Garden profile: Judy Shea

Gardens at: her home in Oley Township.

Profession: retired professor at Kutztown University.

When did you start gardening? About 35 years ago. I did vegetable gardening, and more of the aesthetic stuff has been since I retired and had more time.

What is your favorite plant? I really like very simple things like mosses and ferns. I'd love to learn more about the culture of plants because I find them intriguing.


What do you like most about gardening? The sense of accomplishment that I get from it. It's a nurturing kind of thing in that you get a little plant and you coax it along. It gives you a real sense of accomplishment.

What are you most proud of about your garden? The area that I have under the maple tree. That's mostly shade plants and a few cement finials to set them off. It's very restful to look at.

What is your next project in the garden? I'd like to put up some decorative fencing around the vegetable garden to improve the aesthetics. In other words, I want to hide it.

What advice can you give to a beginning gardener? Take advantage of some of the publications and TV shows that are out there. You can learn an awful lot about gardening from a little book you pick up at the grocery store and from the TV shows.

What has been your biggest challenge? Finding help, people to dig out flower beds. Besides that, I have a devil of a time with zucchinis and pests. They just start to look great and then they collapse.