
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?
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.
Got smart today, bought a galvanized bucket to use for a stool to sit on. What a difference not so closely congregating with the insect world did! No swollen mouth today, and much better angle to get at those weeds! Maybe by September ready to purchase some grass seed for those areas that are now barren of nearly all green. Tempted to do a bit at a time so weeds have some healthy competition.
Glad, we can't afford to do more at this time re the yard. Hubs wants it done this summer. I have already eliminated drip lines for flower beds, concert curbing and I will have to do my own flower beds as well. Eliminating these steps will knock about $600 off the estimate. Plus I did not like want the landscaper said I had to do for the flower bed by the back fence. I want it raised and made into two rolling mounds about 4 ft wide. He said I would have to do 6 ft wide berm with concret curbing. 6ft wide is too wide for me to maintain easily so I will do it my way myself.
Your avatar looks like a dog. Named Rocky? hehehe.
Gladimhere: Saw your container garden grown when you had that as your avatar. Amazing success there! Meant to mention it, but I was distracted. The containers were like metal horse troughs? Beautiful! Was not aware you were planting so many and grouping them. Good job!
Sharyn: You ordered more Iris for your new home! Landscaping a new just built property just doesn't always take off the first time, even if you hire landscaper.
The dichondra lawn had to be replaced with St. Augustine after a year. The soil with construction debris is just so difficult, and may need several inches to feet of good topsoil, imo. Good luck on your new flower bed!
My goal is to ask hubs to take out and discard the dead Cape Honeysuckle that died in the heat. There is another one just taking off, growing green, and huge!