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?
Then I put a piece of cut potato in a jar, some water, and it grew roots. Took them outside on the porch.
Two of the jars have leaves, one jar does have roots but it looks also like moldy, and the cloudy water smells.
Should I plant them in dirt now? And throw away the moldy sweet potato?
I feel obligated to continue this growing stuff, but will it end with new potatoes?
I could adopt them out.
I'm just whining because where I grew up all we had to do was till the ground and toss in the seeds or plants and we got very good yields, now I'm planting in areas where the topsoil has been stripped away and no amount of compost and peat moss seems to replenish that, it will take decades.
Or maybe passive composting in that area for a year?
Jjust some thoughts knowing exactly how you feel.
But hope springs eternal, I've planted some bush beans where the garlic was in hope of taking advantage of the big rainfall we are supposed to get from the remnants of Beryl.
Does anyone have any experience with this? A relative of mine got West Nile virus in AZ. He was in the 1% who had it so bad that he got neurological damage and had to relearn essential ADLs. He's recovered now but...yikes. Arizona + mosquitoes. Go figure.
They are hanging on by a thread but I am still hoping they will come back.
Yeah, it’s stifling here!
Take me to your weeder!
They are sitting in the pot looking pathetic, a few peppers and no leaves. I don’t know if they will come back or not. We’ll see.
It is super hot here. My husband stayed with me in the hospital, even though I told him that he could go home.
So, they weren’t watered. I think he thought it was okay because we had a lot of rain previously.
I hope so. Going for follow up care. I have over 20 test results in my portal right now. Will discuss with my doctors.
I have to wear a heart monitor for a month.
I am still having a couple of symptoms.
I have a garden (small) that is a jungle of blooming high cineraria, brugmansia, jasmine, california poppies, foxglove.
I leave in two weeks for a month on Puget Sound with the DD, and am letting the partner watch over the yard, as he does yearly for a solid month. I want to try to clear out what I can of the spent blooms and yesterday filled one Lowe's garden waste bag and two huge greens containers (the tenants and ours).
Worked all day and had myself at last down on the ground with the proverbial "I cannot get up". Had to use the nearest tree (the brugmansia with it's yellow trumpet blooms) to pull myself to my feet. Have a blister on my thumb.
Nothing more strenuous than the Golden Gate Park dog park today, and eating things bad for me while listening to podcasts.
I hope I just "go" before I cannot get down into the earth. (wait, you DO get down into the earth when you go). I WILL NOT hire out this work I so love, let them have the fun, and pay them 50.00 an hour (the going rate on NextDoor here to do it while nanny helpers for moms only get about 35.00.
I will be gone June 25/July 25 and I never take ANY social media of ANY type with me, nor a computer. I do have a few friends here whose email I have on phone, should I fall in the Sound and have time to type in a message. But otherwise you kids are FREE OF ME FOR A MONTH, as happens ever year.
I do not want to hear too much celebration about that fact.
It's very similar to this one, but not my exact model:
https://www.amazon.com/Squirrel-Outdoors-Protection-Cardinal-Chickadee/dp/B0CJ96ZKG2/ref=sr_1_7?crid=3JRG5P5R7HSO5&dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.VrgxfoNdIGkwCVEGF0q7SkKLV93S87bgrq4Vzg7kAmt9-xGMIfXh8A2MQqx0Zm6V5RPh5F-JVG_pj0A16NZ1MP3LNogadrLvoKx99Zg11-KgGQn8qJv09iO2v8Ex3x5nO_Yn6v9_PrhhVwGlIjF4vID_Wc8WZRAGem6HHA06dgQ64SzidgQYxAgffc5H6nOgsxNYBAriNKgYFSubrFYz_EK-5vnyyeXJ_k4uLxPx1s5bmcpPz0kT_7qaWrmdH6iK5jYagYCwNyoht944M01BpMTDvI8Q9Vn0dhEBMEYFOnM.uijOULRRPqL4-3EjHxyJTOssUqcp0tQFcQ8nMcLm9kw&dib_tag=se&keywords=squirrel+proof+bird+feeder&qid=1718111058&sprefix=squirrel+proof+bird+feeder%2Caps%2C105&sr=8-7
I've had mine for a long time, maybe even 10 years or more.
However the squirrels do love drinking the nector out of my oriole feeder, like a bunch of drunken sailors.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hFZFjoX2cGg
He started placing metal sheeting around the trunks of his trees so that the squirrels can’t get to the bird houses.
I would gladly take it. I would swap some of my peppers for a sunflower! 😊
I love sunflowers! 🌻