If you’re looking for Pat Hanson, a good place to start is her garden.

Actually, that’d be her many gardens.

Nelson, from rural Waltham, has a number of gardens along her house, in her yard and even in a few old carts dotting the lawn.

The 74-year-old has been gardening since she was in 4-H 65 years ago. Today, she said she spends most of her day outside tending to her wide variety of flowers, as well as a few vegetables, like peppers and tomatoes.

However, her love are the flowers, particularly day lilies and hostas — she said she has 35 varieties of the former and possibly 100 of the latter.

To keep them — and herself — organized, Hanson meticulously labels the plants with their proper name tags. Though she admits to missing a few, most of the flowers are clearly marked.

And the names are as vibrant as the gardens’ striking colors. There’s “Bright Light” and “Cinnamon Scar” and “So Sweet,” among many others.

Hanson said she doesn’t know how she could pick a favorite, but a few of the names have particularly special meanings.

The “Anne Arett” and the “Anna Caroline” are both among 12 hostas named in honor of Hanson’s mother, Anna Arett, Hanson said. Planted next to Hanson’s “Anne Arett” hosta is a plant aptly named “Remember Me.”

“She always had flowers,” Hanson said of her mother.

Arett passed away a few years ago, but her passion for gardening had long since rubbed off on her daughter.

Take a tour of Hanson’s gardens with her and you’ll see a woman dedicated to a craft.

She’ll show you where certain plants are crowding others, or where bugs have been nibbling on leaves.

She’ll comment on areas where she’d like to see more contrast in colors, or where she’d like to transplant a hosta from one garden to another.

You’ll hear stories of Hanson’s struggles with weeds, or poor sunlight, or low moisture.

“It’s a challenge to see what’s new,” she said. “(Plants) are different everyday. There’s something different to look at.”

That proved to be true Monday, as Hanson talked about a new hosta that she doesn’t remember seeing before.

“I don’t know if I have that plant anywhere else in my yard,” she said excitedly.

That excitement of always facing a new challenge, along with the good exercise she gets, keeps Hanson going.

Her husband, Rayburn, acknowledged his wife’s love of the gardens.

“She’s out here most of the day, really,” he said with a smile.

And though on Monday Rayburn helped water a few plants, Hanson said he typically sticks to the shed or other fix-up jobs while she tends to the gardens. The two have been living on the same farmland for 50 years, and the land has seen a lot of changes.

They built their house in 1978 and farmed the land through the 1990s. Hanson said her garden really got going after that.

She started with one small garden on the side of the house but has steadily expanded, using the rich soil and nice shade under her yard’s many evergreens to grow more and more plants.

Over the years, Hanson has also stayed very active with the Red Oak Grove Lutheran Church. This year, that meant a lot of planning for the church’s 150th anniversary. Hanson has helped organize an outdoor service, booked a guest performer and even lent her unique backyard flower cart for a presentation.

And of course, Hanson said she has provided some flowers for outside the church.

Hanson said Rayburn jokingly tells her she can’t expand her gardens anymore, but whatever she has to work with outside, Pat Hanson surely will enjoy it.

“I’m not a perfectionist,” she said of her gardening. “I just do what I like.”