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?
That momma cottontail made a habit of having her babies in our yard for a while. After I fenced her out of the garden she made her (invisible nest) in the middle of the lawn, twice giving me heart attack moment when I was cutting the grass.
One of the local communities rented a goat to munch away on the weeds; it was an experiment in alternative (and safe) methods to control overgrowth. I don't recall how well it worked out but do remember that another community tried and it was so successful - the goats were happy, so much so that they began to expand their feeding area and start trimming ornamental shrubbery and plants that didn't need trimming.
Given your skill in natural living, I was thinking of a way that could protect the delicate Japanese maples, albeit a long (very long) term project. Gather pine cones, sprout and plant the seeds and grow your own crop of evergreens to place around your borders, or the ones that need a windbreak the most.
This year I'm going to try to exponentially expand my few conifers by taking cuttings. I've rooted yews before; this year I'll try junipers and arborvitae, as well as sprout some of the several bags of cones I've collected over the years.
Something else I'm going to try is a modified Bonsai experiment with conifers. I don't want the small Bonsai trees, but if I plant them in containers, commercial or self made (I have in mind wattle containers), they can still grow, but likely not to the same height as a free-growing tree. I collected seeds from a beautiful burgundy maple with deep forest green overleaf and plan to sprout them.
Your comment on egg shells reminded me that I read somewhere, probably on my favorite gardening forum, that one species of birds (blue jay, I think) need calcium from egg shells. It had something to do with their bone structure, I think. I'll try to find the reference.
Willie, my local rabbits must be having families but I've never seen them. Still, I enjoy the occasional adult visitor. I would love to find a nest of bunnies!
I did see 3 baby raccoons exploring my roof, occasionally hiding out in the chimney. They were sooo cute, until I went downstairs into the basement one time and heard them chattering in the chimney cleanout. Shortly thereafter I had the chimney capped, something I should have done earlier.
i want to brew up 10 or so gallon of catsup . ive done it before and the results were great ..
Today I moved the chickens from the garage brooder to their coop. At 3 weeks old they've gotten huge. Having spent time talking to them from day 1 they're quite tame. Still more veg to seed, lawns to over seed, potatoes to be hillled with straw, deck needs a fresh coat of stain and, and, and ...
It's really hot in the daytime right now so up early, get into stuff, then nap during the worst of the heat. Carry on when it's cooler, feed us all and sit on the deck until after dark. Watch the 11 p.m. news then zzzz. It's like that in the country - your daily routine changes with the seasons.
Discouraging, and I have been nervous about it.
Fighting on, carrying on, and praying.
Gardening used to be what poor/thrifty people did to cut down on their grocery bills, now it is trendy and everything costs too much. It is hard for me to justify spending hundreds of dollars on annual plants and mulch when I am trying to pinch pennies elsewhere. I wanted to buy lumber and good soil to build a raised garden bed, but I'm gonna put that off for another year.
25 yrs of friendship ? im really done with charlie .
i wont lick peanut butter off his crank .. thats the only distinguishing disadvantage i can see ..
course i aint right in the head , so ( shrug ) .
who knows ? or cares ..
i had enough dogs when my renter was here . her sole purpose in life was to manipulate humans for the purpose of protecting her nasty dogs .
it didnt work ...
im old thinking before my time , maybe 20 yrs of foresight ..
simplify things before you get spacey and young dolts are trying to tell you how misguided you are ..
GTF off of my lawn ..
if all you have is a revolver and an attitude , you should be able to skate till at least 2022 .
i know i sound like a broken record but ive had many aquaintances find out the slow way -- shoot those worthless , needy assed dogs . theyre NOT cute , theyre NOT funny , theyre , pointless .
i actually like cats moreso but i aint gonna run out and aquire very many of those either .
dogs just dont amuse me .. theyre like -- " im fn stupid , please kill me " .
im like " BLAM !! " ..
not a problem ...
I do weed whack the backyard and have planted many colourful shrubs so there's a lovely view from the deck. Between that, veggie beds, greenhouse, 2 dogs, 4 cats and 25 chickens that's all I can manage. I have some muscle that comes a few hours each week to do what's too heavy for me. Frantic time of year, so much more to be seeded/planted so indoors has gone to h*ll. The dust and do hair isn't going anywhere :)
Stacey, Good for you! You have wanted to get rid of that tree-I am noticing from last year. You have been patient too! Doing all this in addition to the helping Fil is quite an accomplishment.
i dont regret a moment that i spent with mom but im not dishonest enough to claim it was a picnic either . it was hard and it was worth it . it makes me feel like i deserve this low stress and peaceful life im enjoying now .
my mom didnt drive was near blind , and lived in the country . she had to have a domestic partner and im glad i was available .
just a word of encouragement to the many here who are sacrificing to help an elder .