From July 2023
And the answer is….Gardening!
After the first few minutes interviewing Mary Corl, it became clear that “gardening” was the answer to nearly all my questions. What’s your passion? Gardening. What do you do in your free time? Gardening. Where do you see yourself in 5 years? Gardening. Mary Alice Corl is a woman who loves to garden and who has devoted her life to its pursuit.
What motivates a person to find and follow one’s passion? Mary’s interest in gardening grew from her roots in Sunnyside, Washington where her family raised grapes, asparagus, and other crops. Participation in 4-H club further enhanced her knowledge of gardening while deepening her curiosity about all things agricultural and horticultural. After high school, she earned an Associate Arts degree in interior design and moved to Portland, helping clients with home design and businesses with window design. Eventually a client encouraged her to become a mortgage broker, but she found this career change to be too restrictive for her creative nature. In 2002 she purchased what was supposed to have been a vacation home in Skamania Landing; today it’s home to her husband, their two dogs, a cat, and 150 houseplants. While some folks collect antiques,books, or coins, Mary collects plants. A member and volunteer of Hortlandia, the Hardy Plant Society of Oregon, she is always on the lookout for new plants to add to her extensive collection.
Mary has combined her love for gardening and design in a half acre garden which she describes as a “jungle”. She begins each day with YouTube videos on gardening, “visiting” gardens worldwide from her office and gaining knowledge and insight that she brings to her own outdoor spaces. Armed with water, snacks, and music, she often spends entire days gardening. She waters each quadrant carefully by hand because installing irrigation would disrupt the ground where so many plants flourish. Mary sees her garden as a series of “vignettes” that flow together, with no bare ground to interrupt that flow. She believes that interior design and exterior design go hand in hand, so she puts a great deal of thought and planning into making those spaces beautiful.
The Master Gardening program opened Mary’s eyes to the whole picture: everything from the underground root system to the tree canopy is interdependent, and one’s actions have a ripple effect. “We killed everything growing up,” she commented, referring to the effects of pesticides, farming practices, and bird control by bullet on the family farm in Sunnyside. Today she rejoices in the abundance of bird, insect, and plant life in her Skamania Landing garden. “Everyone,” Mary says, “should become a Master Gardener.” There is so much that can be learned from the program, and the knowledge can help people better understand and appreciate plants and their role in the environment.
While this is only her first year as a certified Master Gardener, Mary has enthusiastically embraced the volunteer opportunities afforded by the program. She’s active in the FISH food bank garden and is serving as our chapter’s OMGA alternate rep. She wishes she could spend time helping with other project gardens but there are more volunteer opportunities than there are hours in a day. In addition to her CGMGA activities, she also volunteers as a fire commissioner for Skamania County, serves on the architectural committee of her HOA, and is helping her sister to bring a healing garden to the Sunnyside Cancer Clinic.
Her advice to new master gardeners? Pace yourself. Education doesn’t stop when classes end, and time spent volunteering often far exceeds the hours required for certification. Still, Mary sees herself continuing the program in the years to come and hopes to mentor new trainees as well. Her enthusiasm for gardening and for the Master Garden program is infectious and inspiring. “There’s still so much to learn and know,” she says, “and I want to do it all.”
By Anne Gehrig
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