GardenArtist Posted September 2015
Gardening as therapy.
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I've also been working on my very neglected deck prepping it to be stained, I've been down on my hands and knees scrubbing away because that seems to be the only method that is working to get up the mildew and crud. Oy.
I make a dandelion salve that is great for bruises.
you are more than welcome to come to my yard and pick all you want. I will let you do it for FREE and keep the profits.
I think they are bitter. Not a fan of bitter.
I did try some dandelion wine once. "Once" being the important take away here.
They sell for 4.00 a bunch around here.
The garden centre didn't have any deep purple lilacs, just white, light purple and a variegated one (didn't know those existed) so I ended up getting the little Japanese maple - third time's a charm?
I haven't heard anyone call moths millers for years and years, I think when it comes to things going bump in the night they aren't so bad... 🤣
I can't remember what I added to my soil, but I did use some peat moss as well as garden soil from nurseries. Eventually I stabilized the soil. But all that digging was challenging, even decades ago.
Does your nephew compost? That could certainly help loosen the clay soil. I also fed the worms with coffee grounds; they helped turn clay soil as well (Nature's own rototillers!).
I learned from my many garden failures too and I'm always willing to try something new, if I can find the motivation I may experiment with growing some lettuce with the kratky method this year.
Because of the propensity of recent years many people do not garden. My family was never "poor" but my stay at home mother always grew gardens and canned to add quality to our food and as kids we were required to do many gardening chores. Good for everyone! This year my nephew and I have a challenge going on: who will have more yield - me in my limited container garden or him from his larger traditional garden spot? I am very confident because of my secret: I have better soil in my containers and better drainage than the clay based soil he uses for gardening. So far he's been unwilling to put manure on his clay field in the fall and turn it under to improve the soil. A little something I learned from my grandfather.
I can't believe people can be so completely ignorant of where their food comes from, or how plants grow.
I think this is the best time of year, at least for my yard - everything is green and growing and blooming and hasn't yet succumbed to the insects, disease and lack of water that make everything more challenging in summer.
In my natural area the redbud tree is just finishing (it finally put on a show after all these years😁) and the trillium is just about done, but the hosta and ferns are up and the cranesbill, bleeding heart and sweet woodruff are in bloom.
We haven't had a tornado for several decades. I think the last one was over 20 years ago.
But 9" of snow??? I guess this is an example of what we can expect if the politicians can't get out of their me first approaches and think of the nations, countries and people who'll be disadvantaged as climate change progresses.
I'm wondering if eventually more people will grow in greenhouses (assuming they have the space), or at least weather protected outdoor structures.
Ariadnee, your insights are "spot on", but there are some other factors. House interior was last painted in 1979, and some rooms even before that. Exterior is a different story, but then it does get the brunt of severe weather, as well as uncontrolled auto exhaust b/c the city no longer monitors traffic. (One of the roof crew almost 10 years ago observed that my street was more like the Indy 500.)
Both exterior doors do swell, but only in weather of high humidity. They're on the schedule for replacement this year, but I haven't started looking - more research to do. I carry screwdrivers and a mallet with me during the door sticking season.
Visited my little flowering plants yesterday. The Lillies of the Valley are just coming into bloom, and I counted 45 (+/-) white trilliums. Last year there were 80. There are a few lilac lunaria, but this year there are more white varieties than lilac. And on the subject, the lilac tree is still blooming. I think I'm going to try to start more by letting the seeds mature and plant them. I've never tried that before.
The first lawn mowing took out almost of the blooming violets, and now the little wild plants are replacing them. I can't remember the name of that plant right now.
The grapevines are on steroids. They're climbing up the house! They're too thin now to harvest for wreaths, and I don't want them to get any farther on the roof than they are now, but I'm not climbing a ladder to cut them down.
Climbing roses are in bud; other flowering plants were slaughtered when the new lawn crew decided to mow the garden, although some of it needed to be mowed as it's gotten out of control.
Still, all in all, it could be worse.
Yard tractor, a JD 130. A ride on mower with light tractor capabilities.
I was able to cancel the contract on the house there, and with A 5K refund of my earnest money! The more I learned about the lot, the more reasons to cancel.
About that paint-might be the brand and it may be of poor quality. Could also be the swings in humidity that is affecting the paint. Are the doors working properly? If not, could be structural issues.
I was washing some broccoli from the grocery store and noticed dirt and a couple of tiny worms in the bottom of the bowl, that's not something I normally see from a grocery item. I cut the head into little pieces to make a thorough second wash and examination for more worms easier and I couldn't help but remember the great broccoli fiasco from my youth - a big bowl of steamed broccoli that was positively riddled with inch long cabbage worms. Uh no, I don't care what you say I will not just pick them out and eat the broccoli!!
Another related memory, my dad dusted the green beans heavily with bug dust just a few days before picking, the beans tasted like bug dust. Nope, we can't eat that either.
And.... local asparagus is in the stores! I don't know why my parents never mulched the asparagus with straw, lord knows we had plenty to spare. Sometimes if there had been a lot of rain even after repeated soaking the spears were still gritty from dirt, not a way to foster love of asparagus.
On a related note - I don't care what some people say, bigger spears are more tender than thin ones!
Some people will learn how to cope, especially gardeners as we'll see the effects quite prominently, but others will just complain and whine.
I think change includes recycling (the massive piles of plastics are disgusting and disgraceful), but also learning to live with less, and in a more healthy manner, as well as growing up and taking responsibility for our own individual uses and practices.
I remember the oil shortage/crisis in the 1970s (if I actually remember correctly!). New Shelter Magazine addressed solutions, new concepts (such as earth sheltered houses), people conserved gas, and many more options were raised.
Now, many people seem to feel they have a right to cheaper gas, to living the lifestyle to which they're accustomed and want (including massive houses with more room than anyone needs), spending, discarding and refusal to acknowledge that we're each responsible for ourselves, but that responsibility affects others.
We used to get orioles visiting the hummingbird feeder at my Mom's - bonus birds!
A heard lot of air conditioners running last week (not me, I refuse to turn on the air in May!) but for a few seconds this morning I contemplated turning the furnace back on 🙄