TCAM gardening show with Taunton landscaper premieres Black Friday

TAUNTON — Gardening has taken off during the COVID-19 pandemic, according to USA Today, and now Tauntonians will have their own homegrown help to make their backyards blossom. 

Premiering on Black Friday at 8 p.m., Taunton Community Access Media will begin airing Garden Talk with Teresa, an hour-long gardening show with Taunton landscaper Teresa Mello, 57. 

"I usually do workshops where we would do it at restaurants or locations and people would come and I would show them how to do different projects, whether it be garden ornament or something for inside the house," she said. "...But with COVID, I haven't been able to do that. So now I'm able to bring it to people at home...and still reach people during this time."

The show will start by having one episode a month, and include an informational segment on a specific topic, like planting basics, herb and flower gardening and water features, followed by specific tips, a DIY project you can do at home and a Q and A session with questions submitted by email and Facebook from viewers. In the future, Mello hopes to do some on-the-road and secret garden segments. 

Mello said the types of projects she will teach will include things that are both decorative and practical, and often they will be fun activities parents can do with their children. For instance, on last week's episode of FYI with John McCaul, Mello described how to make a pumpkin decoration out of a dryer vent. 

Mello's love of gardening stems from her time spent growing up in Taunton. Her parents owned a small family farm where they raised both cattle and produce and sold their products at a nearby farmstand. 

Still, she said, gardening wasn't always what she wanted to do.

"Growing up, of course, you don't want anything to do with it," she said. "...It was my sister and I, so we didn't have any brothers. It was kind of like, 'Alright, we had to help out, we had to do this.' Small scale, because we were young. But...you don't realize how much you pick up over the years." 

So Mello pursued other careers in her early adult life, climbing the corporate ladder until she became a general manager for a national plumbing company in Connecticut. But after taking the opportunity to do some more hands-on work, she realized she didn't want to be in the office — she wanted to be working outside. 

"I love the freedom love being outdoors. I love dealing with the customers — they were so happy. It was gratifying," she said. 

So 16 years ago, Mello decided to turn that passion into a career, creating Dreamscape Designs LLC. Ten years later, she moved back to Taunton to be closer to her parents, bringing her business with her.

"You feel good when you're exhausted at the end of the day because you put in a good day's work, but it feels good," she said. "When you see that finished product, it's creative. And I love that creative part — putting something that I came up with in my head to putting it down in someone's property. It's very fulfilling."

Back in her hometown, Mello bought a small farm next to her parents' old farm, on what is now called Mello's Farm Road, and named it Mello and Daughter Farm. The farm isn't selling their vegetables, fruit and flowers yet, but she hopes to one day. 

But in the meantime, Mello said, she's excited to share her love of gardening and designing with her community.