It's become clear to me through posts and PMs that there are some gardeners here just waiting for the chance to discuss gardening!
So, I was thinking... how do you use gardening, or how does it affect you if you need a break, need some respite, need to relax, need inspiration....how do you use it as a therapy tool in caregiving?
What are your activities: Do you go out and pull weeds, read a magazine, design new beds? Look through garden catalogues? Go to garden stores?
And what interests have you added to your gardening? Visit estate or garden displays? Do you go to garden shows?
Does anyone design and plant Knot Gardens? Raised bed planters? Assistive gardens? Pollinator gardens (and have you thought of ways to help the bees and butterflies?)
Are your gardens primarily for pleasure or food, or a mix of both? Do you grow plants for medicinal purposes? Which ones, how do you harvest and process them? Any suggestions?
Do you grow plants that can be used in crafts, such as grapevines for wreaths and lavender for lavender wands? Do you make herbal products such as creams, lotions, chapstick?
What else can you share about gardening and the means in which it nurtures your soul?
I had pruned mom's favorite yellow rose bush back this year and it shot up with a bountiful of roses
Stupid mow, blow and go Gardner took it upon himself to hack it in half after the bloom taking the new buds with it and leaving four long stems still in bloom
If it wasn't for his having been with the Viking for years, I'd fire him
Let us know if you do something. All of my research points to cow manure for the most nutrients vs horse. Chicken poo is the best but quite frankly I hate to pay for something I can go get free and it is better then a therapist for me. It also stinks like, well poo!🤣
Yea, I'm the crazy lady tourists point at. I know in my heart they just wish they could be so care free.😁
Some of the local big farms have started storing their manure in big windrows along the back of their property, when I come across some out in the boonies I've often thought I could help myself if I only had a pickup truck (or I could figure out a no mess way to get it in the trunk of my car 😂)
When I read about snow and rain, cold days I can only dream, we have not had any winters for about 6 years and we are already hitting the 100's. Yuck!
Polar- you also need a worm farm, we got one last year
My husband wants to get a compost tumbler. His back is not young anymore and he doesn't want to mix and turn the heavy compost loads. I don't blame him. So, I'm in the market for a good large compost tumbler. They are expensive. Any recommendations?
a Mortgage lifter... and he started to laugh.. he got one!! Also a Mister Stripey,, had great luck with that last year! I am excited!
Honeysuckle blooming here too. Everything still looks very dry.
My forsythia did not bloom like normal, do you suppose that is because it bloomed again Dec 2017 when we had a warm spell?
I'm dreading the Japanese beetles again this year 😡 I was constantly spraying Neem oil last year on them but I could not keep up
Have found about 15 little morel mushrooms so far! And a baby painted turtle on my driveway, it obviously went the wrong direction from the pond so I rescued it but only after I kept it in a little bowl of water and took many pictures 😊
Spring makes me feel so alive and I wish it would stay morning all day!!!
Green thumbs!
My lady’s blush rose has buds I’m excited to see the single roses on this shrub. The hydrangea is growing well after its first winter here. The hummingbird mint is on its way in the mail. I should have a few flowers this year. Anyone know if lavender blooms the first year
I also have basil, parsley and cilantro growing.
White and lilac violets have spread from the back yard around to the front, and even across to a neighbor's yard. The daylilies have shot up several inches and are over 7 - 8" high already. The first Lunaria (money plant) bloomed a few days ago.
Daffodils and one lovely red tulip brighten otherwise pure green areas. And there are more spots of color way at the end of the garden, but the winds are battering everything and gusting to probably up to 25 mph, making it unsafe to venture out.
That would take me through the realm of the Widowmakers being whipped to and fro. Several branches are already down; I don't want to be around when more of them come plunging to the ground.
CW I have similar memory of our kitchen on chicken killing day. :(
Sorry Garden, we didn't mean to talk so fowl. :)