Cheryl MakinMyCentralJersey.com
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Stacy Ling writes like she is talking to her friends. Whether on her “Bricks 'n Blooms” blog or in her book, “The Bricks 'n Blooms Guide to a Beautiful and Easy Care Flower Garden,” her approach is natural, warm and inviting.
"That's what I had in my head when I was writing," said Ling, a Bernardsville resident, whose book published in February and is available on Amazon. "I was thinking of my friends − 'Would they want me to go into detail about this?', 'Would they want me to say it this way?' or would they look at me like a deer in the headlights? My whole purpose was that I didn't want readers to feel intimidated. My friends were my frame of reference."
Once the seed was sown more than 20 years ago, the master gardener developed a knack for translating gardening knowledge into easy-to-understand instructions and tips. While Ling is now no newcomer to gardens, it wasn't always a lush experience. There was a learning curve, and she passes that onto her readers.
"Just because something doesn't work doesn't mean everything won't work," Ling said. "It's just a matter of finding what will work best for you in your garden. There's trial and error, but that's also part of the process."
Her roots in gardening began with a friend who lived in the same condominium community in North Jersey. There was "no land at all," Ling said, but somehow her friend created a magical outdoor space. Inspired, Ling wanted to learn and become that same inspiration for her own friends.
After the townhouse garden experience, Ling informed her husband Christopher, an architect, they needed to move. She needed a proper garden. They landed in Chester with a half-acre yard that Ling filled with flowers for 23 years. After raising three daughters there and doing "every possible project inside and out," Ling was ready for another change. In 2021, she found a home in Bernardsville with space for many gardens and projects.
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Since the move, Ling has learned even more. While her Chester garden was mostly full sun, the new space has more shade. It also has 10 acres, five of which has been landscaped with Ling's "stamp." Her hands-on husband built raised beds and added other architectural designs.
“It's always an adventure, but that's the point,” Ling said.
Ling's goal with the book was the same as her everyday garden goal − inspire others to create dream gardens, no matter the experience level. The manuscript only took about three months to write, Ling said, but that's because she has been writing the Bricks 'N Blooms blog since 2018. She already had a lot of material to expand upon.
The blog has thousands of readers and subscribers on various social media channels, her website and via email.
The subject is plentiful, she said. Ling never lacks or tires of topics to cover, and much of it is evergreen.
"There's so much to write about," she said. "I tend to write about things that are happening in my own gardens or things that I know are going to happen. I really enjoy getting up, going in my garden, writing about growing flowers, the how-to-do-it and taking photos and videos − it's just so fun."
Kind of like tending a garden, with advice from others and careful pruning, weeding and care, Ling navigated her way through building her brand. She had to be "scrappy," learn to recognize trends and stay positive.
"It's also really easy to let things get in your head if something's not going well," she said. "But you can't think like that. You have to just keep going, keep producing, and eventually it will take."
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Ling likens her blog experience to her journey becoming a master gardener, a course she completed with the Rutgers Cooperative Extension in Morris County about 15 years ago. Back then, Ling also had a small garden design business that catered to friends and neighbors.
"You're teaching people in your community how to do things," she said. "But starting a blog − and the book − helped me reach more of the masses. There's plenty of people out there that think they can't grow things. So, I'm talking to them and trying to teach them that they can do this. It's just a matter of what you're growing and kind of how you're approaching it. I never was interested in gardening before I met my neighbor. I never had even an inkling about it. I didn't come from a line of gardeners. I just was inspired, and it really took on a life of its own."
Today, Ling also finds gardening "very therapeutic."
"You get into the rhythm of doing things − it's like a meditation because you're focusing on what you're doing and you forget about everything else," she said. "And just enjoy all the work that you've put in. Being able to say, 'I did this. I grew this.' There's some sort of self-satisfaction in that. I think it's confidence building, too. Especially, if you start doing something that you never knew how to do and suddenly, you are doing it − that's a real confidence builder."
email: cmakin@gannettnj.com
Cheryl Makin is an award-winning features and education reporter for MyCentralJersey.com, part of the USA Today Network. Contact: Cmakin@gannettnj.com or @CherylMakin.To get unlimited access, please subscribe or activate your digital account today.
