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?
Hubs has some coffee grounds sitting out, he says they are for fertilizing the tree. He thinks the branches are dead, but the tree may still be alive.
How to tell?
Anyway, CWillie, to explain about the big trees. A few trees started falling, and emergency crews, including the fire dept. had to come out. The trees looked alive, but inside were completely hollow and weakened. The professionals likely inspected the trees and for safety reasons, the diseased trees have got to go.
Here in CA, an oak tree must be replaced with another oak tree.
Spent about six hours weed pulling this weekend. Need to do it early, if it gets up to 80-82 I have to stop, sweat dripping in my eyes. I was dreading loading all those weeds into my trash bucket for tomorrow pickup too freaking hot. I leave them out in the heat for awhile to dry out so trash bucket doesn't get so heavy.
But neighbor did it for me, but now I don't feel as accomplished. Usually my trash bucket is flowing over for Monday pick up, but he looks real busy with weed this weekend. My weeds filled his container. Maybe I should borrow some to fill my container.
They may come again next month, so I will go to my neighbor directly. You made some very good points.
Violet, I remember you. My goodness you are overloaded now. How is your knee and the rash? Hope you have killed all the poison plants. If you have a website, blog or face book you ca post your pics there and the link here for us to see.
cwillie - I gave up on veggies years ago though did have some grape tomatoes in pots. They were leftover plants at the store and late so eventually I had to take them inside and got a handful of tiny tomatoes from them. Not worth it!
glad - lawns can be hard work. I had mine fertilized and weed killed but you wouldn't know it. The most effective was just walking around and spot spraying with weed killer. I am still battling ants and now clover.
My delphiniums came up but were very long and straggly - looked like they needed more sun. Come to think of it we didn't have much earlier this summer. Even the hostas are behind. The shrub roses are in their second bloom. The ones in front were nice till we had heavy rain and wind and that was the end of the blossoms.
My new neighbors hired TruGreen, and when the guy walked across my driveway dragging a hose I went outside and asked him what he was spraying, and told him in no uncertain terms to keep his toxins off my property. There's no reason he can't walk on the lawn of the house he was spraying.
I was livid that he had the audacity to do so, but it was clear in speaking with him that he had no concept of the danger of wind draft, or even of the basic toxins he was using.
You might try to back door the question, by telling him that there are "medical issues" in your family and you need to know exactly what he's spraying and for what purpose. If he refuses, you can always call the company (assuming he comes in a marked truck) and suggest they educate him on the sprays, for his safety as well as that of others.
You never know; the company may not explain to him what the dangers are.
Let us know how this works out.
Thank you CWillie!
Would it be rude to ask what needs exterminating?
Already had this conversation with dH (the person with whom I am quarantined/jailed/isolated/etc.) and he says I cannot even ask the exterminator professional treating her property because of confidentiality. I might agree.
However, if rodents, or some other pest needs to move out, treating our yard may be wise. If there are ants (we have had ants attack before), maybe they will be coming over here. I have seen gopher holes along the property line, but nothing in my yard.
Also, very sensitive to pesticides, I need to know what is very near, and if anything is making me sick. And to keep my dH safe, he hand pulls weeds over in her yard without protection.
How should I proceed? With being polite, I mean.
And given the influx over years of nonnative species, it might be a Chinese Dagger Moth or some other variation of a nonnative species.
Violet, is the poison oak gone, but you're still suffering from poison ivy? I apologize for not responding earlier; I haven't been in much of a gardening mood b/c of the heat.
I have to share my concern about toxic chemicals though. I hope you wore a respirator? Or did the face shields protect your face?
I've read of some nontoxic remedies for poison ivy but don't remember them. I'll see if I can find some as it sounds as if you're still suffering.
CWillie, did the hickory tussock caterpillar bite you? It's been so long since I've seen many in the garden or yard that I've forgotten a lot about them. I do remember picking off caterpillars from tomatoes, and worse, from small trees when the tent caterpillars invaded my yard. They're revolting.
One thing I do now is an adaptation of trailhiking. I use duct tape to close the openings of pants, shorts, sleeves, and sometimes neck clothing. Sometimes I wear shower caps and tape the edges as well.
The original concept was to keep out ticks, which I've also read have been invading our area.
Just discovered a topic called internet myths.
If I am in a hurry, some of my responses may be just passing on myths about moths. 🦋
Violet! Gardening is still better than caregiving? Lol.
Better google how to remove poison oak from your clothes!
"Urushiol, the substance that causes reactions to poison ivy and poison oak, can remain active on contaminated clothing for years. However, you can easily remove it from almost any garment or gear."
Michigan residents were warned of this I think in 2019.
"The American Dagger Moth caterpillar has been spotted on the trails of Mid Michigan College's campus in Harrison. The Clare County Chamber of Commerce put out a warning for residents on its Facebook page.
The caterpillars measure about 2 inches and have four sets of black bristles across their body that resemble long eyelashes, according to insectidentification.org. A fifth set sticks out of its rear end. When touched, the bristles, which contain a toxin, break off and embed into skin. That causes a stinging, burning sensation that can lead to a rash."
Hope this helps you! First google response to
"YELLOW CATERPILLAR"
I may try boiling water, but I don't want to injure any worms in the area.
And this morning I saw a lovely yellow caterpillar scurrying across the driveway. I'm not sure what it was; might have been a Wooly Bear except that it had a black mark on its rear end. I can't find any caterpillars with a similar mark. But for some reason I thought of tent caterpillars, although they're ugly black worms, writhing and crawling over each other.
NOPE.
Somehow I came into contact with a different patch of poison ivy in the garden and I am in agony! I think I touched the "Extended Release" version because the first blisters came up two weeks ago and just in the last 40 hours I have new patches in weird places. I'm heavily medicated with Allegra and Caladryll lotion but the itching is pretty much nonstop on my inner forearms, one upper arm, and behind my knee. I think it must've been lurking in a big pile of weeds I carried from one of the beds to the compost pile.
I wish I could show you pix of this garden though, it brings me a lot of joy (and this summer some discomfort) but it still beats being in my house all day with my inlaws!
Best, Marya
“The types of seeds in the packages are unknown at this time and may be an invasive plant species,” Virginia’s agriculture department said Friday.
In Utah, Lori Culley received a package with Chinese markings that she wrongly assumed were earrings.
“I opened them up and they were seeds,” Culley told her local Fox 13 station. “Obviously they’re not jewelry!”
Both states and US Customs and Border Protection are investigating the packages. They’re advising everyone not to plant the seeds and to report the deliveries to local authorities.
My garden is moving into the mid/late summer blahs, the early stuff is mostly past it's prime and I'm kept busy trying to keep my containers hydrated.
Each week the weeds get a bit more under control. Looking better, so much better.
If the goatheads have gone to seed, you can use a wet/dry shop vac to pick them up without spreading them around.
I think you need a flame thrower!
Have lots of birds eating up the worms, I suppose.