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?
Geeeeeez, Louisiana is a swamp! We have awful mosquitoes.
I know mosquitoes are a part of the circle of life and all that but I so wish that they weren’t! LOL 😆
I remember seeing a large snake at our zoo. The zookeeper was giving a talk about how important it is not to wish to own an animal that will become difficult to manage.
The zookeeper was saying how important snakes are in controlling the rodent population. Maybe so, and I certainly understand his position from a scientific standpoint, but I still don’t like snakes!
The same goes for mosquitoes. I know they are food for other species of wildlife but I absolutely hate them! I wouldn’t hate them if they wouldn’t bite me.
I have so many allergies, including insect bites. Plus, they carry diseases that are harmful. I don’t appreciate the value they serve even if they do serve a significant purpose.
Bees sting but at least they give us sweet honey!
I think ladybugs are awfully cute and they don’t bite or sting. They are also a farmer’s friend! That’s my kind of bug!
Having conflicting thoughts about it.
I have a northern oriole looking for love in my neighbourhood 💕
I tried putting out half an orange for him but I guess he's not interested in that.
Now I am just sad for the bird.
You had me curious about how many birds mate for life. I counted 24 types of birds that are committed to their mates for life. So sweet!
My plumbagos have just started blooming. The butterflies and hummingbirds love them.
I love the blue flowers. A couple of weeks ago my daughters and I were shopping and we decided to buy new nail polish.
My girls told me how boring I was for always buying the same neutral shade. I’m practical or frugal, take your pick! LOL 😆
Anyway, my girls saw a shade of polish the exact color of my plumbagos. They talked me into buying it and I put it on this morning. I must admit that it is out of character for me but it is a lovely color. I like it.
Watered the front lawns last night thoroughly. Rain is forecast so I will wait and see if I need to do the back. Everything is so dry.
I found a one eyed sphinx moth near the tap at the front. I read it is a good guy and eats other bugs. It hasn't moved so I am not sure it is alive.
The hostas are growing good strong leaves, the mountain ash is in bloom and also the lilac is doing well this year.
A few Japanese anemones are in bloom in front but they are being overshadowed by the rose bushes. I'm glad to see a few are still thriving! They are so pretty, It looks like the astilbe has seeded in amongst the roses. I'm surprised but happy to have them and hope they will bloom.
It's a good location with partial sun and moisture (moss grows there on the front of the deck) but the previous astilbe - the lovely pale pink one which added a nice touch to that garden - didn't survive. I found this dark red one a few years ago in a gardening center here and thought I would try again and stuck it in the same spot. It didn't do much except survive and offer a few blooms so I really wasn't expecting anything else from it.
I am a gardener of the benign neglect variety. Nothing gets pampered. I was checking the Japanese anemones and saw these feathery fronds here and there among the roses. I'll leave them be and hope they flower, though the dark red doesn't add much in that location. You hardly notice it.🙁 The pink was wonderful.
Heavy labor in the garden/yard going on.
Want to stop and talk.
Actually rant about their lives.
It's getting dark.
Just cannot do this.
I cut it back after our freeze during the winter. I was afraid that I was too aggressive with trimming it. It’s looking good now!
We can only plant things that can tolerate our long, hot summers!
I hope your strawberry rocks do the trick! My neighbor has strawberries growing. I don’t know what she does to keep the birds away.
I would have fun painting the rocks. 😆. I have looked at painted rocks on different sites. They are cute!
My neighbor down the street has a pecan tree. He has an issue with squirrels getting to his pecans before he can get them.
I love wild flowers! Sounds like you will have a pretty garden when you finish your planting.
I researched online to see if they are able to bloom again. They say that there has to be a drop in temperature in order for them to bloom again.
Have anyone seen their orchids bloom again and did you use this method?
I wonder what her secret was.
I just checked the internet and apparently it is pretty easy to keep them and make them rebloom. You might want to look it up.
I miss seeing the beautiful flowers.
Some have died off.
There are 2 little pea pods, just two. So cute.
The grasshoppers ate the lettuce.
Everything else planted is a bust in this heat.
End of my garden-fail tale. 🤣😰🐸🍨🍦🍭🍿
Meant to also add a hello to Garden Artist if she checks in at all.
Do yours continuously bloom? Mine still haven’t bloomed again.
My MIL grew beautiful African violets. I want to buy a couple of those. She started new plants from her cuttings. She had a green thumb though. She always had pretty plants in her greenhouse that she was tending to.
https://orchidresourcecenter.com/6-stages-in-the-life-cycle-of-an-orchid/#:~:text=It%20can%20take%20an%20orchid,to%20grow%20a%20new%20one.
here is a good article. interesting what it says about how to remove dead stems to tell the plant to send another. I’ve never done that.
I do have more than one in this window and have orchids blooming often. ~
The guy that got me started with them told me to use Osmocote (the green container). I see there are two diff kinds now. There is a “plus” in a pink container. You just sprinkle on top and it slowly releases nutrients each time you water. I haven’t noticed how often they bloom. I spend a lot of time away so it’s hard to keep up with when they bloom. The one that is old was one actually part of a multi planting in a large silver pot I bought at Sam’s when they were getting rid of what they had left. I remember I bought several and I gave one to a friend who has since passed. That is the only reason I know about how old it is.
The leaves will be kind of wrinkly when I am away too long and DH forgets to water. I just pour about 2 cups of tap water in each pot and the little dish of stones and the leaves perk up. I also keep an artificial one mixed among the pots. It looks real surrounded by the other big green leaves. I use all white though I do like all the other colors.
My MIL also had a green thumb. She had her African violets in a couple of spots in her home. She would give me huge pot plants. They would get too large for her to manage. I have fond memories of taking her to nurseries. She would always pick out just one plant that she had been thinking about. I think I did try the African violets without success years ago in a different home. I really think my orchid success is more about it being the “right” spot and not anything special I do.
The guy at the farmer’s market had beautiful orchids. He supplied them for weddings. I always visited his booth when we went to that market and tried to learn a bit more but that’s been a long tome ago.
Thanks for the article and the wonderful advice!