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?
He did have a call from a neighbor to come today, did theirs last year too. He remembered doing mine, not the neighbor's, so did mine first. What a surprise to me and how embarrassing to him! Well, the grass is looking great! Yes, I paid him.😅😅🌿🌾🌝
Interesting that almost all the articles that come up about foundation junipers show neat, low growing, tidy plants; it's no wonder people end up with unexpected monsters. I purposely planted a large one at my sister's to fill in a weedy back corner and it is now 6' tall and easily 15' across.
This link was fascinating. If you look at it, don’t skip the comments. Very interesting.
http://www.eattheweeds.com/junipers/
If I do get rid of the juniper as well as the spruces I will definitely have to replace them with something else...
Wholeheartedly agree about the landscaping fabric. I tried that stuff once a long time ago and hated working with it. Plus, like you say, I still dealt with the weeds!
Your idea sounds great and your yard sounds lovely.
Grass is tricky in certain areas here. It becomes a challenge. We have very large ‘live oak’ trees in New Orleans. The roots are invasive and grass won’t grow near them but ground cover such as Asian jasmine will.
I love Asian jasmine! It is an evergreen. It’s very hardy. It’s extremely low maintenance and the foliage is pretty. Plus, it’s so dense it chokes out weeds!
I dug a trench alongside my garden shed and filled it with rocks collected from farmer's fields as a dry stream and to drain the soggy area saturated with run off from my eaves - I was thrilled to see it fill with water the first time it rained after I finished. There is a tiny dry "pond" at the terminus and the marsh marigold I planted there will be blooming soon 😁.
The big triangular area beside my deck and the corner of the house hasn't worked out as I had hoped, I've had two japanese maples die there (💲💲💲😭), the strawberry patch I started was invaded by chipmunks last year and any perennials I've tried there really struggle - I'm once again contemplating what to do with it. I'd still like to find some kind of small tree for privacy and shade.
I'm also contemplating adding some shrubs along the property line under the drip line of the walnut tree, I mistakenly bought a nannyberry instead of a serviceberry tree and should find it a new home. This of course involves figuring out property boundaries and is always a balancing act (at least it is for me because I don't want to do anything that would cause anyone grief).
(You might get he idea from all this that my yard is huge but it is really just a typical small town yard)
Environmentally-friendly mowing - are you allowed to keep or borrow a sheep or two?
We have raised beds for vegetables in the main garden, but also some by the sitting out areas - which again are easy to maintain - and they are planted with scented shrubs and flowers for year-round fragrance.
If you wanted to be more wildlife friendly, you could sow a wildflower seed mix into some large pots in the garden. It’s amazing how many insects and pollinators you can attract this way, and birds too. The problem with these mixes is they can start to look a bit tattered towards the end of the season, but if they are in pots you can just move them to be out of sight then.
Many gardeners know that those surgical scrub brushes are great for cleaning up; strong, flexible enough to get around and under the nails, and gentle. Last fall when I was in the dollar store I happened to see some silicone pot scrubbies
(like this:
https://www.walmart.com/ip/Round-Anti-bacterial-Silicone-Scrubber-Brush-Washing-Sponge-for-Dish-Vegetable-Fruit-Pot-Cleaning/125354161)
and although I didn't think they would be very good for washing up pots and pans I bought some to try as hand scrubbies. Today was the first day I've used one and it is fantastic, better than the surgical scrubbies!!
My husband has had rotator cuff surgery on each shoulder. He no longer does intensive yard work. I have severe allergies so we have a gardener.
Mowing is a constant issue and I love the idea of doing bricks or pavers. Others do something even simpler like gravel. I think rock gardens can be very nice too.
I would look at photos everywhere to get inspiration. Look at Pinterest, thumb through magazines, etc.
You could even look up Zen gardens.
The older I get the more I seem to desire low maintenance!
I admire other people’s ‘big’ efforts. I’m over it!
My neighbor has a fantastic small sized pond in his backyard. I love it but I would not want to deal with it. He did screw up with the fish at first. He finally got it right.
I planted very low maintenance and hardy ground covers years ago. It’s extremely dense, so dense that I don’t even have to use mulch in my garden any longer.
It would have been cheaper in the long run. I probably will replace it this year, but I'm also considering hiring a company that makes patio stones to deliver and install, but w/o digging up the grass. That's too expensive. Just putting the stones down will eventually kill the grass anyway.
Then I'll add some outdoor furniture and lots of container pots.
I've found though that "landscapers" want to create an elaborate scenario that THEY like, which I don't want. Nor do I want another lawn service. I know that there are slow growing grasses like buffalo grass, but I want a low maintenance alternative.
Xeriscaping is something I definitely am considering.
Any thoughts? Suggestions? Anyone replace their own lawns with less climate change alternatives?
Raining!
Playing in the mud or with an empty box was always the best as a kid!
We had fun using our imagination. It wasn’t just mud pies. We made pancakes, hamburgers, meatballs, etc.
My mom says that we would have never stopped playing in the mud if she hadn’t stopped us to clean up and eat lunch.
Yep! Gardening will use our muscles!