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?
Of course they're predicting freezing rain on the weekend.
We actually have a hoop house. Unfortunately this is only our first winter with it and have not heated it yet. SO up until the last two cold cold days, we weren't concerned about the cold, it was staying warm in there. But since we have plants that are ready to produce fruit we got scared to lose them so we also covered with the leaves for insulation. it worked, thankfully.
hoping to have heating this next winter. We had tomatoes growing until the end of December, then one extremely cold night lost it all.
But your gardening is the kind I enjoy, and love to do. Hoping to get to do some flower gardens this year. A pollinator garden.
I'm trying something different this year, a culmination of years of drafting garden plans in the style of a formal garden. I'm creating beds, bordered not by boxwood or typical shrubbery type plants, but by daylilies, irises and other perennials. I plan to hide mulch inside the beds at the base of the borders, and rake it out to protect as necessary against frigid weather.
We too are having a peculiar spring. We've had snow 4 days, more last night, including up to 6"in the northern suburbs.
It was addressed to someone down the street, lol.
(Don't you just love having info available at your fingertips!)
This isn't gardening related but I have a ticket to see Cubs game tomorrow night. It had better be good enough weather to go!! I can deal with this lingering cold, but don't want any rain or snow or sleet weather. It will be interesting to me to see if the famed Wrigley Field ivy is starting to get leaves yet.
We were blessed not to lose any, the leaves did a greta job offering insulation. Its the first time we tried that. And am so glad it worked.
Harvested more lettuce, turnips and spinach today.
Really hoping weather works itself out soon.
However I do not look forward to tornado season. :( :( :( :(
Last year I experimented with a recommended spray made of 1 part milk to 2 parts water but I waited until my plants (phlox) were too far gone to tell if it really made a difference.
Over the weekend I saw a gardening spot on the news. There is a giant lily hybrid that flowers get as big as your head. I may try to find those bulbs and start them in a large pot to take with me to the new house. A nice plastic lightweight pot easier to move.
There is a garden here with lilies that need to be thinned out badly. May decide to tackle that.
Happy planting.
Any suggestions? Thanks
Time to spray my dwarf blue spruce with dormant oil in hope of stopping a repeat of last years gypsy moth invasion.
The long term forecast is for continuing below normal temps :(
I'm quite enjoying the pink hibiscus in an urn next to the side door
I pruned mom's yellow rose bush way back this year not expecting any blooms until next but it is covered
I wish she could see it
Harvested- some turnips, spinach, lettuce, radishes
Growing- are tomatoes, canteloupes, beets,carrots, cucumbers, peppers, cilantro,brocolli, basil, rosemary, sage, oregano
Planted-potatoes,( red, blue, yukon gold), squash and zuchinni, more turnips, beets, and radishes, watermelons, garlic, corn
You might be able to soften the ground by mulching with last year's leaves. Or you could take cuttings now and start them, so they'll be established by the time you leave.
I hope the weather stays nice for your move. When I was 9, we moved on a blizzardy day, left our poor little cat behind; Dad stopped over at the old house and got her for us.
I've moved another time in frigid weather. No more - from now on I'll only move in nice weather!
In our current location the bulbs are pushing their way up through the snow. i don't have anything like snowdrops or crocus because either the mice dig up the bulbs or the deer eat the flowers. They mostly leave the daffodils alone because they are actually poisonous, but the occasional head gets bitten off.
I hope the ground will be soft enough to dig up some mint and chives before we leave.
I just realized I haven't even ordered any catalogues, and only received one from a company from which I ordered years ago.
This year I'm going to try to plant a lot more herbs, as I had years ago, as well use daylilies as parterre borders. For years my goal has been to create a formal, French chateau style garden while surrounding the parterres with an English Country Garden. I hope I can get that accomplished, at last.
The May issue of The English Garden is available now, complete with a captivating special addition on roses. I am sure I can smell the fragrance of those beauties just by glancing at the special handout.
The landscaping magazines and garden catalogues are calling to me, and of course I must obey!