
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?
The English Garden, March 2022 magazine.
So beautiful, so many ideas.
I am going to make a pathway leading to a garden bench. Later.
Shopping for any bench will do.
Otherwise, it's about 47 days or so until Spring. I'm looking at spots in the back yard that I could plant more hosta (shady 'n dry-ish), maybe plant a few more lilies, get the soil ready for the aforementioned zinnias, some organic fertilizing.....keeps me from dwelling on the realities of life now and dementia care.
Zinnias did really well last year, looking forward to replanting them this Spring. I've gardened for years. It's great fun, very theraputic and always something new to learn about plants, soil and the weather.
Not even going to try and save it.
Hope it will be December's issue, I am excited and can hardly wait. Such fun!
all that dunking was supposed to prevent the eggs from hatching! 😬
One year I decided to heck with house plants and I really missed them, in the dead of winter growing things help keep me sane.
Now I use (gulp!) artificial plants. Yes, shame on me, but I don't like bugs in the house.
I'm glad you enjoyed it. I sincerely hope others do as well. It's a nice diversion from daily life.
Thank you for the links, so very much for taking the time.
It was great going on garden tours and a safari while it rained yesterday.
What the weather reporters called a Bomb Cyclone coming to California was just a normal, intermittent light rain in SoCal, but it took a few days to find that out. I was concerned, and people were contacting me early on to see if we were okay. The weather in Northern California must have been treacherous, if the reports were accurate.
Today is bright, and sunny.
Checking with my in-home tech-guy, dH said the chromebook does not have screensaver capability, you must have windows GA. But I can take the tours anytime. You are really generous to share the links, and I hope other caregivers reading can take a break for some beauty and distractions in between caregiving burdens and chores.
It takes some self-discipline to get one's mind off of the declining loved one because that never really goes away even when off-duty. As you said, GA, Gardening as Therapy! So, thank you again, I am saving the links to view at my leisure. 🌞
https://www.chateauvillandry.fr/en/
There's nothing like getting online and watching a virtual tour of a French formal garden. It's the best way to start any online activity!
Send, I hope you enjoy your tours!
Here are some other sites to provoke daydreaming:
https://www.finegardening.com/article/gpod-on-the-road-butchart-rose-garden
The 9th and 10th photos show a beautiful arched garden; the second one really caught my eye b/c it's made from trees. I've always wanted to turn the junk trees into something positive.
If you enjoy complex but beautiful arts, check out the complex mahogany "wall structure" in the lower right near the bottom of the page, or view it at:
https://www.artfulhome.com/product/Wood-Wall-Sculpture/Octave/151656?refid=72965&utm_source=criteo&utm_medium=display&utm_campaign=lower_funnel
Another beautiful art structure:
https://www.artfulhome.com/product/Wood-Wall-Sculpture/Zephyr/151624?refid=72965&utm_source=criteo&utm_medium=display&utm_campaign=lower_funnel
If you want to travel a bit, and across "The Big Pond", visit Villandry:
https://www.chateauvillandry.fr/en/explore/an-overview-of-villandry/virtual-tour/
If you're captivated (as I am) by medieval , Renaissance and other period chateaux, you might be sighing all the way through the video.
There's a way to use the virtual tour as an animated screen saver when first logging on to your computer, but I can't remember how I did that. I guess I'll just have to spend more time gazing at garden photos and videos to figure out what I did to create it as a screen saver.
To everyone else who's commented, I haven't been ignoring your comments and failing to respond or acknowledge. (I'm waiting for the first snow storm so I can spend more time online!!)
I did not see where I could sign up for the newsletter.
I will when the magazine arrives. Well, I already saw the photos of the
November gardens.
I visited the website earlier, and parts were non-functional.
Still looking around. Just beautiful!
https://www.theenglishgarden.co.uk/
And a preview of the November issue:
https://www.theenglishgarden.co.uk/latest-issue/latest-issue/
Wander through a sculptured maze at 1:31 spot in the video:
https://www.theenglishgarden.co.uk/directory/listing/longleat-house-gardens/
Or, sign up for the newsletter:
https://www.theenglishgarden.co.uk/newsletter-2/
(Unfortunately, this site doesn't seem to be functional tonight).
Or: be glad you don't have to mow this lawn:
https://www.theenglishgarden.co.uk/directory/listing/longleat-house-gardens/
I wasn't aware of the newsletter until just now; otherwise I would have signed up long ago.
Gardeners, sighing repeatedly is permitted, as is gasping at the beautiful gardens.
Did you need an epi pen for anaphlaxis from the bee sting?
Most mosquito species avoid direct daylight, so typically, they do not come out during the day. ◾️ Why do mosquitoes come out at dusk and night? Dusk is when the sun sets. Direct sunlight can dehydrate and kill mosquitoes, which is why they tend to only emerge at dusk.