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?
It might be a good idea to drive around your area with your eye on everyone's foundation plantings, you can get a better idea of what works for others and appeals to you. Local parks and shopping areas are also good places to get ideas on what is both practical and pretty since plantings there need to be almost indestructible.
Do not remember much at all, or how long the blue uniform was worn, so cannot comment on Campfire. Something sounds a bit familiar, can you explain it?
Knowing my mother, she worked, so the actual "commitment" to keep her daughters in Bluebirds may have been too much for her, did not meet her babysitting needs, or it was just a passing fancy. We did not have choices back then.
It looks slightly less glorious in my hall, which it has invaded and is making its purposeful way from behind the radiator there back towards the dining room window on one side and the drawing room window on the other. The landlord's agent is annoyed partly because she paid someone quite a lot of money to remove it the year before last (I'm sure they did their best) and partly because her own wisteria at her house, thoughtfully sited and lovingly tended, ailed and died. I've taken some cuttings of my unique indoor version for her while we wait for the next handyman to have a go at persuading it that it belongs outdoors and must stop burrowing in through the wall. We can't do anything very mean to it in case we hurt the parent plant which is a key feature of the courtyard in front, so I predict that I'll just have to learn to enjoy greeting it every morning as I come downstairs.
Gardeners' World, which you can probably get on BBC iPlayer, features the incomparable Monty Don as presenter; but Gardeners' Question Time on Radio 4 (Fridays/Sundays) is even older, just had its 70th birthday. Sadly it's nothing like as serious as it used to be but that's probably just me getting middle-aged and grumpy.
As taught to me in summer Bluebirds, as a child, instead of Brownies.
We sat outside to have our activities, planted a few seeds in a tiny red-clay pot.
Made potholders too.
That's exactly the kind of program I would LOVE.
I really miss Erica Glasener and another woman who used to host garden programs decades ago. Can't remember her name right now.
Thanks for the tip; I'll search and see if I can find some old episodes to watch.
There's even a hint of fall in the air in SoCal today with mild temps all week - I love it !
Okay, no more talk of Fall until CWillie's though with Summer! But you know, we gardeners can enjoy 2 seasons at a time - it's permissible! And one of our local supermarkets has fresh cider all year round now. What a treat!
And BTW, I found a beautiful new magazine, English Gardens. $6.99 at a local grocery store. It's stunning, ab-so-lute-ly stunning, and filled with photos of those magnificent English masterpiece gardens, beautiful roses tumbling over lovely trellises, parterres filled with massive plantings in delicate pastels, old redesigned castles and estates, and enough to exceed my sigh quotient for months.
I've seen half a dozen trees already competing to be the first and most colorful trees to display their autumn foliage. They're typically brilliant orange or red with blends of gold and fading green, and stand like an advance guard leading what is one of the most beautiful times of the year.
My thoughts have already turned to cider (well, and of course donuts!), and harvesting grapevines to make a fresh supply of wreaths. This year I'll decorate them with clippings from the arborvitae, juniper, and some of the volunteer maples if the foliage is golden or reddish.
A trip to the local park to check for pinecones is always a favorite and relaxing activity as well. This year I plan to plant some to see if they'll grow. I know that some need to be heat activated, but I really don't want to bake them; I've done that before to ensure that insects didn't snuggle in and set up housekeeping, but the odor of warming pine cones is not very pleasant.
And that reminds me; I have a collection of about 8 oz. of seeds from a beautiful red/burgundy maple that I have yet to plant. I might try to bonsai them, as I really don't want them to grow to full height - just not enough room in my narrow yard.
Has anyone ever bonsai'ed a tree? Any suggestions?
Another favorite activity as fall creeps in is going to Jo-Ann Fabrics and lazily perusing the special fall collection of costumes and home decorating. I haven't done this in a decade; maybe it's time for another fabric treat, if I can get in and out with just admiring, sighing and daydreaming but w/o buying more fabric.
I have more costume patterns than I could use unless I were to become a costumer for a theatre or operatic production, but I enjoy thumbing through the pages just to see what's available from new designs. One thing I do plan to do is make some medical scrub outfits - no buttons, no zippers, just wash and wear. They're great for gardening.
So, what are your fall plans? Mums to be planted? Crops still to be harvested, or a fall garden to be planted? Halloween plans? Big pumpkins and corn stalks (if Glad still has any!) to be tied to lampposts?
O what a beautiful morning!
A cheap way if the corn plot isn't really large is to poke branches, sticks or stakes in the ground, creating a corral around the corn, and secure a tarp around the stakes. If the barrier is higher than the stalks, most of the wind should generally blow the tarp around, but the stalks would have some protection.
That's not to say though that the wind won't just blow the entire barrier down. Winds have minds of their own and can get downright nasty!
I would be leery about trying to stand the corn upright, in my experience that often causes even more damage to the bent/broken spot. If it isn't too bad the corn may still manage to produce a crop anyway?
Fingers crossed that your corn is still viable and untouched by four legged creatures.
The flower was lovely, but the thistles seemed to have a plan to attack me from all sides. Even though I tried to be careful, always emerged from weeding them with multiple cuts on my arms and legs. And of course by the time I forced myself to weed them, it was too hot to wear long sleeved shirts and pants.
I tried to use a scuffle hoe (my go-to weeder) but they were too thick and stubborn.
I don't often dislike a plant, but I really disliked thistles.