GARDEN | The Garden Gal
by Anne Jaeger
Ambassadors Of Soil
A married couple combine love for one another and gardening to help others connect to the earth.
Isabel LaCourse loves being a gar-
den educator, even though she
aspired to be a basketball player
while growing up.
Karen Wolfgang has an anthropol-
ogy degree from Princeton Uni-
versity, and a Master’s degree in
educational leadership.
INDEPENDENCEGARDENSPDX.COM
Anne Jaeger, writes The Garden Gal for
Just Out. Anne was a hard news reporter
and anchor at KGW and KOIN before turn-
ing to gardening full time. After that, her
award-winning garden shows appeared
on both stations. You can now look for
Anne's garden videos on the Oregonian
newspaper web site: oregonlive.com/hg,
catch her on Twitter @GardenGalTV, send
her a suggestion via her web site: Garden-
Gal.TV, or write Anne@JustOut.com.
32
JustOut.com
Anne Jaeger: Karen, why do some people believe gar-
dening is so difficult?
Karen Wolfgang: There’s a sense that the earth is some-
how separate from us. We feel disconnected, but we
aren’t. Our business reintroduces people to the plant
world in a healthy way. I think we help them under-
stand that the earth’s a network of relationships, and
collectively “we” are a vital part of that. Gardening isn’t
hard, people just haven’t been taught how, and since
they haven’t had the chance to learn the basics, they’re
scared they won’t “do it right.” So, it’s powerful when
we can help new gardeners get excited about gardening.
eat vegetables. Not true! In fall, we grew a cone-shaped
cauliflower in the school garden. Every one of the kids
wanted to taste it after watching it grow. At harvest
time, I had 30 kids around me pawing for cauliflower,
just like it was ice cream! Moments like that make me
feel grateful and honored that I can help kids (of all
ages) be connected to the earth.
AG: You two have a knack for coaching, which saves
gardeners a lot of wasted time, effort and money in the
long run. What are the most important lessons you can
offer to build a new vegetable garden, regardless of skill?
KW: There are three: First, space. How much space do
you have? Even small spaces yield big returns. We build
a lot of raised beds because they’re easier for people, but
you can grow right in the ground. Then, time. Realisti-
cally, how much time do you have? Summer gets busy
and you’ll need time to water and weed your garden.
Finally, preferences. What vegetables do you like to
eat? List them, buy the seeds or “starts” (small plants)
and plot out your garden. Make a plan considering how
tall the plants will grow, how much sun/water the veg-
etables need and how you’ll take good care of the soil.
AJ: Your website describes you both as “the brainy/
brawny ladies behind the business.” What’s that all
about?
KW: People see two women arrive for a garden con-
sultation and can’t believe what we can get done. Isabel
says I’m tiny (5’5” and less than 130 pounds), but ur-
ban farming is increasingly a woman’s world. We work
smart and hard. We know people want hassle-free help
growing their own food. That’s why we create planting
plans, purchase the plants, work alongside clients in the
vegetable garden, weed, fertilize, and do whatever they
need to be successful. §
Isabel LaCourse: (Speaking of her K-8 after-school gar-
dening program) Parents always say kids don’t like to
February 2013
Photo by Horace long
OPPOSITE PAGE:
Karen Wolfgang and Isabel LaCourse are
passionate about a couple of things: the earth
and each other. As owners of Independence
Gardens, based in Portland, they nurture
both. They make it their business to teach
gardening and build new vegetable gardens
with enough health, vitality and fertility to
grow crunchy, delicious produce year round.
You can call them the ambassadors of good
soil. They take pride in spreading enthu-
siasm for edible gardening, one client at a
time. And I’m pleased to announce to those
of you who haven’t met Karen and Isabel un-
til now — they got married last year. They
love what they do and one another, saying, “A
healthy plant world makes us healthy.” This
month, Karen and Isabel prove February is
a perfect time to get your veggie garden on.