BY STEPHANIE KUNDA – THERE are people who love seeing things grow and do so much just to have them sprout into the beauty they live to cherish and this is the story of a woman passionate about growing flowers.
Magdalene Lambwe a Gardner in Ndola’s Northrise area says she has had the passion to watch things grow ever since she was a young girl.
“I remember when I was young I really loved flowers. With loving flowers, I loved many others things like knitting, embroidery and sewing, but flowers were what caught my eye, more like love at first sight,” she exclaimed.
Ms Lambwe narrates that when she retired in 1995, gardening came to her mind and this was received with support by Mr Lambwe her husband who she narrates of being a good planter of fruits and maize.
She said she started planting bit by bit and having no support, but family and friends; she continued planting and kept seeking advice from some of her friends that had vast gardens.
“I would plant bit by bit and if things were not in order, I had friends that I would visit just to get there opinion on gardening and wow, their I was, planting,” she narrated.
Ms Lambwe said she took gardening to a serious note in 2008 because she basically loved seeing what she loves most grow into the beauty it deserved.
Ms Lambwe went on to say how flowers help in so many things like healing and gave a tone of freshness to the air they surrounded.
“Even the air has changed as you have seen here. Flowers promote health. And most of the plants are medicinal and having people that know plants you’d hear them say oh this can heal malaria, flu and so forth,” she said.
Ms Lambwe said the sense of health was what helped her plant more and more because not only did they promote beauty, but also promoted health.
When asked about challenges, she said challenges are always there, but it’s was how you handled them that counted and went on to give an example of how she maintained the flowers with watering.
She said the secret was taking was in taking every little money acquired to the water supply company to help the bills not to accumulate which at the end of the month would not be much.
Ms Lambwe further advised gardeners out there that if you are passionate about gardening, go for it because if you love seeing things grow, the beauty will be in the experience, challenges faced and finally the out come.